Harry Potter and the Death Eaters of Hogwarts
by Mentally Impaired
Summary: I'm revising this. Look for "The Death Eaters of Hogwarts." Changes to Harry's summer routine get him better prepared for his 5th year at school. Students by day, Death Eaters by night, the halls are no longer safe to wander when its dark.
1. Summer Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter universe. I am merely using it for my own enjoyment with no intent to make a profit from it.

**I am revising this entire story, one chapter at a time. I'm not just fixing grammar and spelling mistakes but taking and adding parts as I see fit. So far I've done the first two chapters so far but they are relatively the same, since I'm satisfied with the originals of the first few chapters. The only big changes are in Chapter 2 with an extended scene with Kat (the muggle girl Harry saw during the summer) and Sirius about Harry's other aunt.**

A/N – I'm probably abandoning the War Series. I don't like it. There are so many cliches in them that its a little nauseating if I do say so myself. That and my writing is terrible and I only seem to focus on the battles.

So I decided to write a new story. Hopefully this one will involve more of a plot and won't be all over the place like the other ones. All reviews are welcome, especially those that have some constructive criticism and by that I don't mean merely a, "you suck, go die!" I want something that tells me where mistakes were made or where reviewers think I can improve upon my story.

Chapter 1 Summer Changes

Harry let out a morose breath as they pulled into the driveway of Number Four Privet Drive. Another summer in boring old Surrey, just what he was looking forward to. He grabbed his things and went to get out of the expensive new company car, but was stopped by his uncle.

"Wait right there, Potter."

Harry froze in mid-motion, watching as his cousin and aunt quickly got out of the car and went into the house. Uncle Vernon turned in his seat, his pudgy face staring into the rather skinny face of his nephew.

"Your aunt and I have done some remodeling to the house, namely the basement. Dudley has discovered boxing and his school thinks he can become one of the best in the nation if he looses some weight and gains some stamina. I think its all nonsense, the boys perfectly healthy as is but the school insist. Anyway, since we had some extra cash left over from the basement remodeling, your aunt has decided she wants a new garden."

Harry sighed, knowing exactly where this was going. "And you want me to install it don't you?"

"I expect you out there for at least five hours a day. The materials are all on the side of the house. Your aunt has drawn up a design, which you will find on the kitchen counter. You will follow the design to the letter and I expect it done by the end of July."

"Fine, but I'm not doing it for free."

Vernon's face reddened at Harry's word and the teen could see the man puff himself up in anger. "If you think I will pay you even one pound!"

Harry resisted the urge to wipe the spit that had flew onto his face. "I don't want money. I want an equal share of meals. No more single piece of toast for breakfast or a slice of cheese and water for dinner. I'm almost fifteen now Uncle, and my growth has already been stunted by years of you refusing to feed me properly." Vernon started to stutter something in out rage at being talked to by his nephew like that, but Harry wasn't done.

"I also want to be able to keep my things in my room so I can do homework. You may think what I am is abnormal but like the rest of my people I've come upon my abilities naturally, as in nature gave me my gifts. And if you don't find any of these terms acceptable, then I won't re-do your garden. Any problems with that, you can take it up with my godfather. You remember the mass-murderer Sirius Black right?"

Uncle Vernon sputtered for a bit, wanting to yell bloody murder at his nephew, but stopped himself and thought it over. His nephew's demands weren't too irrational. The meals could easily be done, since Dudley was going to have to continue his diet anyway, which meant they could just shift the extra food the freak's way. As for the freak's abnormal things, well it wasn't like he could use his ability during the summer anyway, nor would anyone even enter the room.

"Fine," Vernon grunted out. "You start tomorrow. Now get in the house!"

Quickly gathering his trunk and Hedwig's cage, Harry scampered out of the car and into the house. He resisted the urge to let his trunk hit every step on the way up, not wanting to have his things taken away from him because he wanted to get some petty revenge by scuffing up the shiny wooden stairs. Instead he carried everything carefully, assuring Hedwig she would be free in an hour or so, when it finally got dark and no nosy muggles could see her taking flight from his window.

The room was just as he left it last year. All cabinets and drawers in the wardrobe open, from when he had rushed to pack his things when leaving last year. The desk, which looked like it would fall apart soon, and its equally crappy looking chair, were still sitting in their little corner. The bed, its sheets all over the place from when he had tossed and turned in them during a nightmare, was still slightly depressed in the middle, showing how old the mattress was.

"It's great to be home," Harry muttered to himself, placing the trunk at the end of his bed.

He placed Hedwig's cage down on the desk, fishing a spare owl treat, which he had been feeding the bird on the train home, out of his pocket. Hedwig perked up at the sight of her favorite food and eagerly took it from his outstretched hand.

"I'm gonna write a letter to Sirius and send you out. Would you like to go on a journey girl?"

The teen grinned as his owl hooted a positive response. Walking over to his trunk, he popped open the lid and proceeded to get hit in the face with all the clothes he had shoved in there last minute, springing free from their tight confines. He needed a new trunk and looking at the raggedy and ugly clothes he was pulling off his face, he needed new clothes.

"I need to get to Gringotts girl, get some money for clothes." Harry stated, looking at his owl as he moved the pile of clothes next to the wardrobe.

"Hoot. Hoot."

"You're right, I'll be needing to get more owl treats for you as well."

"Hoot."

"Wow. I'm having conversations with my owl..." the teen muttered to himself, pulling out a piece of parchment, quill and inkwell from his trunk.

**'Dear Padfoot,**

**I'm back at the Dursley's, though I'd rather be living with you, even if it meant sleeping on the floor of a cave. They're making me re-do the garden, which will take at least a month of manual labor. I don't mind though. I managed to get them to let me keep my trunk in my room so I can work on my homework, in exchange for doing the work. Plus it will keep me busy and keep my mind from wandering to things I'd rather not think about.**

**I hope you are well and that where ever you are, Aurors are miles away. I know you are probably out, gathering the old crowd for Dumbledore. I just hope you remain safe and don't do anything too stupid. Remus has told me stories of you when you were in school. How did Dodge the Whomping Willow sound like a fun game to you?**

**Write when you can.**

**Miss You,**

**Your Godson'**

Reading over the letter and deciding he was happy with it, he reached over and opened Hedwig's cage. The owl shot out of the cage, flying once around the small room before settling on Harry's shoulder. She nipped his ear affectionately and Harry returned the affection with a few gentle strokes of her breast.

"I trust," he folded the letter, "you can find Sirius no problem. After all you are the greatest owl out there."

He waited as Hedwig puffed herself up in pride before swooping down from his shoulder and snatching up the letter. She circled around the room as Harry got up and opened the window, before she flew out into the open air. He watched her fly out into the dusk sky, the setting sun casting a haze over the area.

He glanced at the ancient alarm clock that sat on the night stand next to his bed. Not even nine at night and he had nothing to do. The young wizard walked over to his bed and plopped himself down on the mattress. Then the smell of the sheets hit him, and he realized the things hadn't been washed in over a year.

Yanking the bedspread off the mattress, he also gathered the clothes that weren't that baggy on him, about an eighth of those he owned and trekked down stairs. It sounded like the Dursley's were all watching the telly in the sitting room. He hadn't been down in the basement since he was eight, and he had accidentally fell down the stairs when carrying a load of laundry up them. He had suffered some ugly bruises from it, which got his teacher asking some questions the Dursley's didn't like. Ever since then he didn't have to do the laundry, since Petunia feared he'd fall down the stairs again and bring Social Services to their door.

He walked down the steps, noticing right away that the usually bare cement floors were covered in a what looked like a blue mat. Stepping fully into the underground room, which was the size of the entire ground floor, without the walls, he noticed that the entire floor was covered in it. The washer and dryer were still against the wall to his left, but the rest of the basement was cleared of all the boxes it use to contain. Instead, it now had about a dozen exercise machines, some free weights, a punching bag and a speed ball. There was also a bare spot of floor, probably where Dudley did some practice sparring.

"Thinking of working out Potter?"

Harry glanced up to the doorway and saw Dudley standing at the top of the stairs. He hadn't thought about it, but now that Dudley mentioned it, maybe it wouldn't be to bad an idea. He didn't have much to do during the summer anyway, besides some homework and working on the garden.

"Maybe," Harry replied, turning toward the washer.

"Dad would never let you near the equipment. He'd be afraid you'd brake 'em," Dudley stated, matter of factly, as he walked down the stairs.

Harry shrugged at that as he tossed some detergent into the machine, followed by his clothes. "He probably wouldn't."

"But he would if I told him you could. If you do something for me..."

The wizard spun around, staring at his cousin with a guarded look on his face. "What do you want me to do?"

"I need a sparring partner."

Harry snorted at that. "Are you kidding me? Your over twice my weight. One punch from you would probably knock me out!"

"We don't have to actually hit each other. At least not until I lose some weight and you gain some. I just need to work on my speed. I need an actual target, something to try to hit, to push me harder when I miss."

"And you want me to be your partner?"

"I'm trying to take this seriously, this whole boxing thing. Despite what mum and dad say I know my grades aren't good. There really isn't much I am good at, except beating up on people. So I'm going to follow the diet set out for me and work out as much as I can. This way when I return to school I can impress the trainer they are going to introduce me too, and hopefully find a career in beating people up. Unfortunately, Piers, Malcolm and the gang want to go smoke and drink and beat up on kids but I can't do that because those things won't help me in my goal. So, they don't want to hang out with me anymore and now, I have...no friends." The last part was sad rather pathetically.

Harry nodded his head, a little flabbergasted that Dudley had matured so much. Dudley had also finally come to the conclusion that Harry had come to years ago, about Dudley not being smart.

"Fine. I'll be your sparring partner. In exchange for using the equipment of course."

"Of course."

Dudley held out his hand and Harry warily accepted it. They shook on it, the first time in their history of living together that the two had agreed on something.

Dudley turned and went back up the stairs, closing the door behind him. Harry pulled himself up on the washer and sat there thinking of his time at the Dursley's already. He was re-doing the garden, getting full meals, sparring with Dudley and working out. That was more then he ever did every other summer here combined.

"Maybe this summer won't be so bad after all."

* * *

He was completely wrong. The first two weeks of summer had been absolute hell. From working on the garden to sparring with Dudley, nothing seemed to agree with him.

After eating breakfast he would go work on the garden. When he first started he hadn't realized exactly how weak he was until he tried lifting two of the twenty pound bags of fertilizer. He had managed to lift them, but he thought his arms were going to fall out of their sockets if he held them for more then a few seconds. So instead he had decided to dig the pond out first. He didn't think it would be too bad, but he had no stamina to go along with his lack of muscles. It had taken him almost six hours to dig out the pond.

Then when he had sparred with Dudley for the first time, he had started off pretty well. He was a lot quicker then Dudley was and managed to dodge most of Dudley's shots. Unfortunately, one of them connected with Harry's temple and sent him crumbling to the mat, where he woke up fifteen minutes later. Dudley had abandoned him there, probably not wanting to get in trouble for giving his cousin a concussion.

After getting himself oriented, Harry had decided he would start using the exercise machines, since he was down there anyway. He found out he had to put the machines on their lowest weight available, otherwise with his weakness and soreness from the shoveling he had done earlier he wouldn't be able to do any working out at all.

After dinner he would work on some homework, writing a few inches for Herbology before calling it quits. He didn't even bother taking off his clothes, just fell on the bed and fell asleep.

Harry repeated that for the first week, before adding jogging to the routine. It was easier to lift things if you lifted with your legs. While his legs were the strongest part of his body, that didn't mean he didn't have to improve on them. He also added lunch, which he enjoyed after working on the garden. Three meals a day was better then two. Finally, he decided to improve on his spell work as well. He didn't actually cast any spells but looked up some interesting bits of magic in his defense books and practiced the wand movements.

He ran with the new routine for another week before something unexpected happened. He had been working on bringing all the heavy rocks to the pond, where he was suppose to frame the pool of water and create a waterfall, when a voice had interrupted his work.

"Alright there Harry?"

Spinning around, Harry let a smile grace his face. "Professor Lupin...er, Remus!" He quickly amended at the look on his old professor's face. "And Padfoot!"

The big black dog barked happily, bounding up to the sweaty teen and licking his hand enthusiastically.

"Ew!" Harry said between chuckles, wiping the hand that was slobbered on, on his t-shirt.

"How are you holding up Harry?" Remus asked, eying the teen's dirty appearance.

"Great actually. I never realized how pathetic I was physically. The manual labor, running and exercising has really improved my strength. Not to mention eating proper meals has already helped me grow an inch since summer started!"

"That's good!" Remus smiled at him, before glancing around. He could see that one of the Dursley's neighbors was pressed against her window, staring at the three of them intently. "Do you mind if we go inside? Sirius and I need to talk to you. Plus your neighbors appear to be very nosy people."

Harry laughed at that, glancing at Mrs. Withers and waving jovially at her. The woman seemed to harrumph to herself before pulling her face back and pulling the curtains over the window. Harry beckoned them to follow him, leading them to the house.

Harry brought them through the back door, into the kitchen where Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were sitting down eating lunch. Upon seeing Harry enter with a strange man and dog, Vernon opened his mouth to yell. However, as soon as Sirius entered the house he transformed into his human form, startling the two muggles shut.

"Hello Dursley," Sirius growled out menacingly. He took several steps toward the obese men, who was shaking in his seat. With a flick of his wrist, a long black wand was in the "mass murderer"'s hand, which he used to shut the back door with a bang. "I've heard about how you've treated my godson. You are lucky Harry's such a nice person or I'd kill you where you sit you fat bastard. Keep pushing him like you have been and maybe one day he won't be so nice and when that day comes, I'll be there with a smile on my face."

Vernon let out a rather pathetic sound that was half way between a squeal and a moan of terror. Sirius then turned his wild gaze onto Petunia, who shrank away from it.

"And you Petunia. I can't believe you treated your own sister's son like that! There is no way you and Lily could be related. She was such a better person then you could ever hope to be, its astonishing."

Petunia only squeaked in reply, trembling too much to respond to such a statement. With one last glare Sirius stalked out of the kitchen, with a quiet Remus and Harry following. The Boy-Who-Lived led the two men to his bedroom, where upon entering Harry turned toward his godfather.

"Did you have to threaten to kill him?" he asked with a small frown.

"Maybe that was taking it a little too far but it sure as hell scared him. Did you see his face? It looked like he was about to wet himself!"

"He did," Remus confirmed, tapping his nose.

Harry and Sirius looked at the werewolf for several seconds before glancing at each other and bursting out laughing. Remus didn't seem to approve of what Sirius did but couldn't help the guffaws that escaped his lips

Harry gestured for them to sit down, as he himself sat down on his bed. Sirius picked the desk chair, which groaned under his weight and Remus leaned against the window sill. They didn't seem too happy with the state of his room.

"What did you guys want to talk about?" Harry asked, trying to distract them from his terrible living with the Dursley's.

"Sorry I didn't respond to your letter. Remus and I were in Italy, trying to coerce back an old Auror who was a veteran during the last two wars. Dumbledore wants him to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as rejoin the Order of the Phoenix," Sirius explained.

"Did he accept? And what's the Order of the Phoenix?"

Remus looked at Sirius, who just shrugged his shoulders.

"He didn't accept," Remus started. "As for the other question, well Dumbledore doesn't want us to tell you much, but during the war with Grindewald he created a group called the Order of the Phoenix. When it was first started the group would do things like intelligence gathering but after a few years during the war with Grindewald, fighters were eventually inducted into it. During the last war with Voldemort, Dumbledore started it up again. We were recruited after we graduated, along with your parents, the Longbottoms and Wormtail. Now he wants to get it going for a third time. "

"Can I join?" Harry asked, eagerly.

"I don't think Dumbledore wants fifth years in it, no offense. After you graduate definitely, if the war is still going on by then of course."

The teen nodded, a little put off at his godfather's words. He would have liked to join, to help in the fight against Voldemort any way he could.

"I do have some good news to tell you. I bought a house down the street, rather I should say Remus bought a house down the street. He will be the older brother who just went through a divorce and I, with a little charm here or there to hide my hair color and change my facial features, will be his younger brother."

Harry looked between the two and upon seeing that this wasn't a joke, broke out into a wide grin, which quickly turned into a look of concern. "Won't the Ministry be able to find you if you stay in one place? And you mean to tell me you'll be living down the road from me? "

"Well, they would be able to except the Auror in charge of my case is in the Order and has been leading them astray. It also helps that my cousin is a metamorphagus, which is someone who can change their physical appearance at their whim, and sometimes disguises herself as me and gets spotted up north in Scotland a lot. As for the living down the road part, thats a big yes. It was a long process but with Dumbledore on our side everything eventually worked itself out."

"What do you mean it was a long process?" Harry questioned. "Don't you just buy the house and move in?"

"Well we figured it would be best if we did things the legal way, through the Ministry. As a werewolf wanting to live within three miles of human contact, I have to show the Ministry that I have a secure place to be during full moons. I also have to go through some psychiatric test, to prove I'm not just here to go tearing into muggles while I'm a wolf." Remus grimaced as he said it, the thought of hurting another human disgusting him.

"There's also the fact that he's buying a house near you. He had to prove he didn't want to hurt you. Which was rather easy as one of your dad's best friend and a former professor. Then, since he's in the middle of a muggle neighborhood, there are all the wards and enchantments that go over the house, that make it appear as normal as possible to muggles who enter it. For instance, when muggles enter his house any moving photos and paintings he has automatically stay still. Any spell books he has laying around, while still appearing like a spell book to you or me, would look like a regular old book on mechanics or physics to a muggle. It cost a little extra to have a Ward Constructor come down to do it, as its mandatory for all magical people living in muggle neighborhood, but it was no problem."

"That sounds like a lot to go through just to live here. How were you able to afford it all? Er, no offense Remus," Harry apologized quickly.

"None taking Harry. I know I don't look like I have money and its true. Being a werewolf really restricts what jobs I can have. There are already discrimination laws that forbid me from holding a job in the government. Then there are laws that state if I want to work at a magical dwelling I have to inform my employer of my condition, and you know how witches and wizards discriminate against my kind."

Harry nodded sadly at Remus's words, knowing just how cruel magical people were to other races. Goblins, house elves, centaurs, werewolves and even half-giants were all feared or hated or looked down upon.

"I paid for it all." Sirius cleared his throat, probably as uncomfortable with his wealth compared to Remus's as Harry was with his compared to Ron's. "I couldn't use the Black vaults, since the Ministry flagged them after I bought you that Firebolt. Luckily, I inherited the Gamp family vaults from my dad's side three years ago when my second cousin died childless and the Ministry hasn't realized it yet. Since I was never convicted of anything, I'm still legally allowed to inherit the headship of a family."

Harry looked interested at that. "You mean the Ministry has a way to tell when someone becomes the head of a family?"

"Of course. They have the Department of Pureblood Affairs. Heads of family file paperwork listing their heirs, as well as any other children they have. The wills of purebloods are usually filed away their as well. They keep track of the genealogy of individuals who are either purebloods or half-bloods. This way if a head of family dies without dictating an heir they just trace their line to find the closest of kin. Of course purebloods have to do all that paperwork at Gringotts too, since they also have their own area for that. The Ministry isn't as good as Gringotts is with updating their records, though."

Harry nodded his head, figuring that next time he went to Gringotts to withdraw some money he'd go look at the Potter's lineage.

"Anyway," Remus began, "we won't be at the house all the time, since we still have some more members of the old crowd to gather, but when we are there you are welcome to visit us. We'll owl you when we aren't."

"Couldn't I just live with you guys?"

"While there are protective wards that stretch about a mile in every direction those aren't nearly as strong as the ones over the property of Number Four. Anti-apparition, anti-portkey and wards that keep out those with the Dark Mark can all be torn down with some skill, power and time. However, the blood wards that prevent anyone with magical blood and an intent to see harm come upon you from entering the property, can only be torn down by you, your aunt or your cousin."

The green eyed wizard looked down, put out at Remus's explanation. It would have been nice living with people who actually wanted him there.

"You can do magic at our house," Sirius proclaimed, trying to wipe the dejected look off his godson's face.

"But I'm underage!" Harry exclaimed, confused.

"They don't track wands. They just track magic over magical residents. Muggle-borns can't do magic at their houses because they are the only ones of magic there, so the Ministry knows its them. Purebloods know this and even though its considered a social taboo to allow your child to do magic, many of them allow it anyway, they just don't let anyone know."

Harry frowned at what Sirius told him. "No wonder why I got in trouble for Dobby's hovering charm! The system's so flawed!"

Remus nodded, agreeing with the teen. "It is. There have been many advocates trying to get the Ministry to change the system. They want them to put tracking charms on wands, that can be removed when a teen becomes of age. Which makes a lot more sense, but Fudge doesn't like to disturb the status quo, so nothing has been done. However, that means you can perform magic at our house. I'd say you could probably perform it at your house too actually, since you haven't gotten an owl yet for Sirius's banishing charm on the door but if they see multiple spells being cast here they might get suspicious."

Harry glanced at the schedule he had worked out and then posted on his wall by his desk. He didn't want to do anything to change the whole physical part of his day of running, working on the garden, sparring with Dudley and using the exercise equipment. But at around 4 in the afternoon till around ten at night all he did was look up spells, practice wand movements, eat dinner and do a little homework.

"Can I come over everyday at four?"

Sirius laughed. "Of course you can! We'll even help you with your spell work and homework. Though, neither of us can cook for a damn so there will be a lot of take out."

"Great! I just gotta do some things and I'll be over in a few hours!"

* * *

"It's just an upward flick of the wrist."

Remus demonstrated, showing Harry the rather easy wand movement. Harry did it a few times, just to get use to it.

"Good! Now repeat after me_ Confringo. Con-frin-joh._"

"_Con-frin-joh_."

"Excellent. Now put them both together and make sure you aim at the dummy!"

"_Confringo!_"

The azure jet of light slammed into the wooden dummy, exploding it in a small explosion of fire. Splinters rained down upon the surrounding area, causing Harry and Remus to wince.

"Very good! Though it usually isn't so powerful, especially in one so young." Remus looked thoughtful as he said the last bit.

"Does it do that to humans too?" Harry asked, frowning.

"The spell is meant to be used on solid objects, but it can be used on humans as well. Since it wasn't designed for humans its effects on them aren't nearly as powerful. However, you could still blow out a healthy chunk of flesh."

"Oi nerds! Dinner is here so stop with the learning!" Sirius shouted from upstairs.

Remus chuckled. "Despite what he says, Sirius did a lot of learning himself. Him and James use to spend hours in the library looking up curses and hexes for when they joined the Ministry and spells to use in their pranks."

A far-away look came upon Remus's face as he got lost in thought about his days as a Hogwart's student. Shaking his head the shabby looking man shook his head. "Well, thats _Duro, Levicorpus _and_ Confringo. _Not bad for your first day of learning."

"Well you've always been a great professor," Harry responded, starting up the stairs.

"Thank you Harry, though I don't think many would agree with you," Remus responded, following the teen.

"Snape doesn't matter. He's a slimy git."

"To right he is!" Sirius crowed, hearing what Harry said. "Now come in here and help me finish this pizza. I ordered two large pies!"

"Merlin Padfoot! That's a lot of pizza for three people!" Remus chided, walking into the kitchen.

"Probably," Sirius chuckled.

Harry joined them at the table, picking up a slice of pizza and biting into it. He had never had pizza and it tasted wonderful to him.

"I think I'm gonna enjoy summer."

* * *

It was July 30th, a day before his birthday and he had finally finished the garden yesterday. It looked beautiful if he did say so himself, and the neighbors seemed to think so too, judging by how they gushed to Aunt Petunia. Not that the Dursleys gave any credit to him for it.

All the physical activities he had done, plus eating healthy for once, had put an extra stone of weight on his body and helped him grow another two inches. No longer was he a five foot two inch shrimp who only weighed a hundred and twenty-two pounds. He wasn't bulky looking like Dudley was bound to be if he kept up with the diet and working out. Instead the green-eyed teen was slim and lean and wiry looking, like the football players Dean Thomas had posters of.

It also helped that Remus had taken out some money from his bank account and purchased Harry some new clothes to wear. No longer wearing clothes that were four sizes too big, really helped Harry's appearance. Wearing baggy clothes made you look smaller then you really were and Harry had already looked three years younger then he actually was without the baggy clothes.

Sirius and Remus had helped him finish all his homework, especially Potions which he had been struggling with. Honestly, he was terrible in the subject and couldn't wait to drop it after OWLS were over. They had also greatly expanded his repertoire of spells; adding shields, cutters, blasters and bludgeoners, amongst others. They had also helped him in his transfiguration and even started him on the path of becoming an animagus, even though he wouldn't be able to transform until Valentine's day the earliest. The process involved a lot of meditation to achieve proper mental awareness, two potions; one to find your animal if you had one and one to allow you to transform, and a lot of practice on self-transfiguration.

He was currently on his way to their house, rubbing his cheek gingerly. He had a nasty bruise there from when Dudley had caught him with a right hook earlier in the day. The portly teen had become faster after weeks of trying to land punches on Harry, but Harry had become faster as well.

On the way to Remus' house from the Dursley's sat an open plot of land that the local teenagers now used to play cricket and rugby on. Currently a group of them were playing an intense game of cricket, judging by all the shouting going on.

"Look out!"

Harry glanced up and saw a cricket ball was about to collide with his head. His right hand shot up, snatching the ball before it could slam into his head, though it was extremely painful on his hand.

"Good catch!"

A muggle girl came running over to him, dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and some cricket gear. As she approached him she took of the helmet, showing a cute face with blue eyes and blond hair. She was his height and looked to be around his age.

"Thanks," he replied, handing her back the ball.

"Do I know you from somewhere? You look familiar?" The blond examined his face closely.

"Er, I'm Harry Potter. I live with the Dursley's..."

"Their delinquent nephew!" she cried out, snapping her fingers.

"I wouldn't exactly say delinquent," Harry muttered.

"Is it true your shagging the Luther brothers?" she asked, rather boldly.

Harry's face twisted into shock as he heard that. "You mean Sirius and Remus?" At the mere thought of it he burst out laughing, though disgust was evident on his face. "Oh god no! The mere thought makes me want to vomit. They were friends of my father back when he was alive. Sirius is my godfather and Remus is an honorary uncle. Its only recent that I've met them."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense, even if it isn't as interesting a story as the rumor going around." The girl seemed to be thinking about something for several seconds. "Do you really go to a school for criminally insane boys?"

The wizard rolled his eyes at the Dursley's rumor. "Insane? Maybe. Criminally insane? Nah. I actually go to a boarding school up north in Scotland."

"That doesn't sound as interesting as the rumor either." She looked put out at the fact that Harry wasn't part of any scandalous stories.

"I can assure you my life is quite interesting."

Her sky colored eyes looked him up and down, before she broke out in a grin. "Would you mind telling me how interesting your life is over a slice of pizza?"

"Wha...er what?" Harry asked, stuttering.

"A slice of pizza. You know what that is right?"

"Of course!" Harry's voice cracked, causing him to wince. He could feel his face heating up and was mortified his body had betrayed him like that.

She seemed amused by him and Harry couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He was never good with girls, Pavarti Patil could testify to that.

"I have to go home and shower but if you were to be here in an hour, we could go get that slice..." she trailed off, looking at the green-eyed teen inquisitively.

"Um, yeah. I'll...I'll be here."

"Great. I'll see you in an hour!"

Harry watched her walk away, bewildered at what had just happened. As soon as the girl, whose name he didn't even know, had disappeared from sight, he raced down to the Marauder's house. He didn't bother knocking, he never did.

* * *

"What am I suppose to tell her if she starts asking about my school?"

Harry had burst into the house to ask Remus and Sirius for advice. After Sirius had stopped teasing him, they had given him some ideas on how to behave on a date, even if Harry insisted it wasn't a date. Still, the green-eyed teen was still nervous on what to talk about.

"Just tell her you go to Hogwarts," Remus said, as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

"What? That makes no sense. Hogwarts doesn't exist to her!"

"Muggles can look up Hogwarts. When Dumbledore became Headmaster he set up a file on the school, listing it as an exclusive boarding school in Scotland that is invite only. Anyone who digs can easily find information on the school, even students' grades. Though they change things around like Potions is chemistry, Care of Magical Creatures is biology and Arithmancy is mathematics, amongst other things. Didn't you read about that in your muggle-born packet?" Remus asked.

"What the hell is a muggle-born packet?" Harry demanded.

"When a muggle-born witch or wizard is accepted into Hogwarts the Ministry sends a packet that explains to them a brief background of the wizarding world, its basic customs and a run down of the laws involving underage magic and the breach of secrecy," Sirius explained. "They probably figured since you were the Boy-Who-Lived you knew all of that already, not taking into account the fact that you were raised by muggles."

"Yeah, a lot of things seemed to have been conveniently forgotten when it comes to me. For instance, I've been told the Potters are a pureblood line, so am I going to become the head of the family?"

"No one told you that!" Sirius seemed outraged at the face. Then again as a Black he was brought up as a proper pureblood and so such things were probably extra sensitive to him, even if he did deny that way of life.

"No! No one told me a damn thing," the teen almost spat, his anger at being kept in the dark about his own life rising to the surface.

"Of course you are going to be the head of the Potter family! In fact, since you are the last of the Potters, you will be able to rightfully declare the position tomorrow, when you turn fifteen. An interim head has probably been assigned in your place, by your father in his will. This also means you'll be able to claim your seat in the Wizengamot. You should find out who the interim head is and how he has voted for you.

"You also can see if you claim the right to lead any other families. You could even claim to be the head of the Gryffindor family."

Harry looked at Sirius in surprise. "I am a descendant of Gryffindor?"

"Of course. The Potters, Longbottoms, Spinnets and Dumbledores are all Gryffindor descendants. The Potters descend from Gryffindor's oldest son. The Longbottoms and Spinnets descend from his middle child, a daughter. Finally, the Dumbledores descend from his youngest son. Since your line of ancestors were all previous heads of the family, you would be able to claim it. Though you'd be taking the position away from Dumbledore, who claimed it in the early 1900's, when no one had claimed it for almost two hundred years. The position was thought cursed, since anyone who claimed the position of Head of Gryffindor house seemed to die within six years of taking the position. Of course Dumbledore proved that wrong."

Harry shook his head, trying to take in Sirius had just told him. He was a descendant of Godric Gryffindor himself. So was Professor Dumbledore, Neville Longbottom and Alicia Spinnet. He wondered if anyone else was the descendants of a founder. Was Voldemort the only Slytherin left?

"What about the other founders?" he asked eagerly.

Sirius tapped his chin thoughtfully, trying to recall the knowledge. "Let's see if I remember this correctly. The Gaunts were from Slytherin but that line disappeared sometime in the 1940's. There was also the Norton family but they moved to Australia several decades ago. The Blacks are actually descended from Ravenclaw, along with the Corvus family, the Edgecombe family, the Boot family, the Lovegood family, the Rookwood family and the MacGregor family. Finally, the MacMillans, the Bones, the Flints, the Jugsons and the Moodys are all from the Hufflepuff line. Oh and believe it or not but the Weasleys are the only descendants of Merlin."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. That's why some purebloods like the Malfoy family are so hard on them. They think that people who descend from probably the most powerful wizard to ever live should have a better house, better job and should be firm believers in the pureblood beliefs and traditions. Unfortunately, the first one isn't Arthur's fault. His father blew away all of the Merlin family money before Arthur was even ten. It was a big scandal at the time. Arthur of course doesn't help his status by staying at such a low paying job just because he's fascinated by muggles, even though he has been offered better positions. Of course, having seven kids probably doesn't help his wallet either."

There were so many more questions Harry wanted to ask. The history of the pureblood families seemed so fascinating. Why didn't Binns ever teach anything like that? Instead he focused on goblin wars, like nothing else happened in the past.

"I'd hate to interrupt this history lesson but you are suppose to meet this girl in two minutes." Remus pointed at the clock on the wall

"Bloody hell!" Harry shouted, jumping to his feet. "I'll see you later guys. Thanks for the advice!"

"Hold on their kiddo." Remus put out his arm, stopping Harry before he could dash from the house. "Here's some pounds. Treat her to dinner. Its the gentlemen thing to do."

Harry accepted the money, shoving it into his pocket. He took off running again, his shout of "Thanks Remus!" trailing him as he flew through the doorway to the outside world.

"Oh no!"

Remus turned to Sirius, who looked at him with a stricken look on his face. "This means we have to give him the birds and the bees talk."


	2. It's a Little Extreme Sirius

A/N: This story will be Harry/multi. I don't like stories where Harry has one girlfriend his entire life. Normal teenagers aren't like that and I want to emphasize that Harry just wants to be a normal teenager in this story.

Unlike my War Series, this one won't include a battle scene every chapter. I'm also trying to stay away from so many clichés and if I do add a cliché I try to make it seem less cliché-ee... Does that make any sense? Like making Harry a descendant of Gryffindor but there being several other descendants as well.

Chapter 2 It's a Little Extreme Sirius

Harry walked into the Marauder's House without knocking, like he usually did. The house was silent, which was odd because Sirius was the loudest person he had ever met. Usually the t.v. was blasting in the living room or the two Marauders were engaged in a prank duel.

"Padfoot? Moony?" Harry looked around, his suspicion growing.

The teen pulled his wand out of his back pocket, glancing around nervously. He went to the living door and pushed it open. The room was dark and Harry was seconds away from casting a Lumos charm when suddenly the lights were thrown on.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday!"

The Boy-Who-Lived jumped in shock as the large group of people shouted at him. He wasn't expecting anything like this. As far as he knew it was just going to be Sirius, Remus and him ordering take out like they usually did.

"Happy birthday mate!" Ron walked up to him, slapping him on the back.

"Happy birthday Harry."

Hermione threw herself at him. He returned the hug, noticing as her body was pressed against his that Hermione was growing up. She pulled away from him, beaming and he couldn't help but return the smile.

He saw that his dorm mates were there as well. The three males walked up to him, slapping him on the back and asking him how he'd been doing. Mrs. Weasley engulfed him in a hug, while Mr. Weasley gave him a firm handshake. Ginny waved a little, blushing red and still crushing on him. The twins made a big show of crying about how their boy was all grown up, getting a laugh out of Harry.

Harry shot a nervous look in Sirius' direction before letting out an internal sigh of relief. He looked nothing like the infamous Sirius Black. His hair color and facial features were completely different from the face that littered hundreds of wanted posters around the magical community. For a second, he had feared that Sirius had forgotten to put on his diguise, since he usually walked around the house in his normal appearance.

"I can't believe you guys are all here!" Harry cried, grinning at everyone in the room.

"Wouldn't miss it mate!"

"Harry," the teen turned toward his godfather, "Alicia, Katie and Angelina will be coming in a few. I needed their help getting your present here."

Harry looked surprised at that. "How did you get them to help you? Do you even know them?"

"Nah. Fred and George worked as middlemen."

"It was our pleasure," the twins stated in unison, bowing.

"Why don't you kids go into the backyard and hang out while we adults set up dinner?" Remus suggested.

The teens quickly tromped through the hallway and to the backyard, where Sirius has set up a bunch of couch's outside under a large gazebo that hadn't been there yesterday. Harry took a seat on one of the couches, Hermione sitting to his right and Ron to his left.

Conversations flowed easily between the group, each one telling how their summer had gone so far. The twins had apparently put the money to good use and had gotten enough ingredients to create a line of candies that helped one get out of classes, whether through excessive vomiting or excessive nosebleeds, amongst other things. They were cheap to make but they figured kids desperate enough to get out of Potions would pay double the price it took to make. At least thats how the twins figured it. It only took them a hundred galleons to make enough of the candies to hopefully last them through Halloween, two hundred candies for the five different kinds, and the profits they made from those would fund the creation of more.

Hermione would be leaving for Japan the next day with her family. Dean's father, a sports journalist, had apparently just gotten a job as a West Ham beat writer and had been getting tickets for Dean to see some games. That was a dream come true for Dean, since West Ham was his favorite team.

Other than that everyone seemed to be having the same summers they've always had. Ron and Ginny played Quidditch in the orchard, went swimming in the pond and degnomed the garden twice a week. Neville worked in his greenhouse when he wasn't being forced to attend his grandmother's social events. Seamus spent all his time hanging out with some friends he had met when in muggle primary school, something his muggle father insisted he did.

"Harry come to the front of the house! Alicia, Angelina and Katie are here with your present!"

Harry perked up at Sirius's shout. He looked at everyone around him before jumping from his seat and running to the front. The others followed and saw that the three older Gryffindor girls had arrived in a dark red convertible with a golden colored top. The adults were up front admiring the car as the girls climbed out of it.

"Where is it?" Harry asked, looking for his present.

"This is it!" Sirius stated, giddily. "This car is it. A 1995 Mercedes-Benz SL500 convertible!"

Harry wasn't the only one gaping at the thing. Hermione, Dean and Seamus, the only three raised in the muggle world, knew how expensive the gift was. Neville, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George just thought the thing looked cool.

"Sirius!" Mrs. Weasley admonished. "Honestly getting a fifteen year old a car."

"It's a little extreme Sirius. I can't drive, don't have a license and I'm not even old enough to get one! I still have two years!"

"About that..."

Sirius searched his shorts until he finally pulled out a square card. He handed it to Harry who could see it was a drivers license but it wasn't from the United Kingdom.

"New Zealand?"

He looked at his godfather inquisitively. Sirius gave him a look that said they'd talk later, as the three Chasers came to greet their younger teammate.

"Harry! Look at you!"

"You get any bigger you won't be able to play Seeker!"

"Someone's turning into a man!"

"Hey Alicia, Katie, Angelina," Harry replied in turn, accepting their quick hugs and kisses on his blushing cheeks.

"Its true though, if you keep up this sudden growth spurt you won't be able to play Seeker as well as you have," Katie pointed out.

"Cedric was bigger then me and he was a good Seeker."

"No, Cedric was a decent Seeker at best. He was too big to turn as quickly as the rest of you and his extra mass made him slower in the wind. He was originally one of their Chasers, and was pretty good too, but since they couldn't find a decent Seeker, he switched positions being the best they could find. His only win was in the game against you, which only happened because you fell off your broom," Angelina said it as if the memory stilled pained her. "He lost to both Malfoy and Chang. Luckily, you beat both of them and were able to secure us our trophy."

"Well, no offense but I don't exactly want to stay that small forever. What if I switch to Keeper?" Harry looked at the three of them with puppy-dog eyes.

"I'm Captain," Angelina stated, "and I'll let you try out for Keeper but I also want you to try out with the Seekers too. I'm not just gonna give you the position and I don't want to lose one of the best Seekers Hogwarts has seen if I can't find a good replacement, even if you are getting too big to play the position."

Harry nodded his head before he was led away by Sirius, while everyone went about admiring the new car. He still couldn't believe such a thing was his.

"To the muggles you now have dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Since the driving age in New Zealand is 15 you were able to get your license. Of course you yourself weren't able to do any of that but I gave the goblins a couple of galleons to take care of all of it. Luckily they know I didn't get a trial and so don't consider me guilty of any crimes."

"So I can drive? Legally?"

Sirius grinned at the teen. "Yeah. Remus can give you driving lessons, since he knows how to drive. All your other presents are in the kitchen, ready to be opened. Just have to wait until after dinner and cake, both of which Molly cooked."

"I've missed Mrs. Weasley's cooking. Aunt Petunia is a decent cook at best. Still, getting back to the car, I'm away at Hogwarts for basically ten months of the year. When am I going to use a car?"

"Well it isn't just a regular car Harry. Arthur and I have been working on it. It can fly, turn invisible and the boot is enlarged. It flies pretty fast too, faster then it drives. There's also anti-burglar charms and the likes, to prevent any muggle from stealing it."

Harry gave his godfather a look, which caused the older man to glance away guiltily. "Mr. Weasley already had to deal with enough fall out with his flying car. If word got out he helped make mine like that he'd be in even bigger trouble!"

"Come on, tell me it won't be fun." Sirius gave him a puppy-dog look.

"It will probably be brilliant," Harry admitted.

"See Harry, you try to channel your mum but really its your dad who you are like."

Harry returned Sirius's smile but he didn't feel like smiling. Something in that statement bothered him.

"Let's eat yeah? Its almost six!" Ron cried out, pulling away from gazing at the car.

"Merlin forbid someone keep Ron away from food for more then two hours," Dean stated with a roll of his eyes.

"I think the last person that tried that got their hand chewed off," Seamus guffawed.

Chuckling at Ron's expense the entire group made their way into the house. The kitchen had been magically expanded to fit everyone. The table, which had been magically expanded as well, was covered in delicious looking food. Sirius had conjured extra chairs for the extra guest.

The teens all sat at one end of the table, talking in loud and boisterous voices. They speculated on the up and coming school year, arguing who looked to be the favorite in the professional Quidditch league ("How can the Cannons be the favorites if they haven't won a game, Ron?"), and remembering pass experiences together.

The adults sat at the other end, talking in hushed voices. They spoke of the Order, Death Eater movements and speculation on what Voldemort was up to. The Dark Lord had been fairly silent since his resurrection and it unnerved everyone who truly believed him to be back.

It wasn't until they were all stuffed with food and cake, that Sirius finally allowed Harry near his presents.

"Here, open this one," Sirius said, handing the teen an envelope.

Opening the envelope, Harry saw that it contained five tickets to a West Ham v. Arsenal game.

"My dad managed to get five tickets to a game. I figured we could all go. Ron and Neville have never seen a game and from what I've heard, you and Seamus have no knowledge on the greatest sport out there." Dean's voice had risen at the end, showing just how passionate he was about football.

"That's great Dean!" Harry stated, grinning at his tall dorm mate. "We'll work out the details later."

Sirius then handed Harry a plain box, that when moved produced the sound of glass clanking together.

"I wouldn't open that up here Harry." Seamus shot worried looks at Mrs. Weasley when he said that.

Lifting the lid a little, Harry peaked inside. His eyes widened slightly before he quickly closed the lid and nodded his head in understanding. Several bottles of Irish whiskey were inside and Harry had a few years before he was legally able to drink that. Something Mrs. Weasley would not find amusing at all. Harry shared a brief smile with Seamus, remembering nights where the five dorm mates would stay up late at night taking swigs of whiskey and talking about sports and girls.

"Yeah, good idea. Thanks."

The green-eyed teen placed the box to the side and accepted his next gift. It was a long, thin object wrapped in brown paper. Tearing off the paper, Harry found himself staring at a rather large knife. A note fluttered to the floor and the gift appeared to be from Hagrid. A magically crafted German hunting dagger, if Hagrid's note was to be believed. It had an fifteen inch blade and a plan black handle. Nothing fancy looking but it would never rust, never get dirty and would always stay sharp.

"What is Hagrid thinking, giving a knife as a birthday gift?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"That's a long blade you got there Harry. You overcompensating for something?"

Harry blushed at Angelina's comment, like he always wound up doing when hanging out with the Gryffindor chasers. Setting the dagger on top of the whiskey box, he took the next present being handed to him.

It was a a large, rectangular shaped package with Hermione tidy scrawl written over the wrapping paper. Knowing his friend like he believed he did, Harry guessed it was a book of some type. He wasn't wrong, unwrapping a heavy tome of curses, hexes and defensive spells.

"Some of them you've already learned for the Tri-Wizard tournament but there is still a hundred or so spells in there that will be really useful," Hermione explained.

Harry opened the pages, briefly glancing at some of the spells. He had already learned a few of them from Remus and Sirius but there were a lot he had never heard of.

"Thanks Hermione. This should come in handy with the OWLS being this year."

"Here Harry," one of the twins started.

"Open ours," the other finished.

They handed him a plain looking box, not wrapped. Harry looked at it nervously, remembering stories from Ron about how the twins pranked his Christmas presents.

"We didn't do anything to it I promise."

"Yeah not like we could if we wanted what with the way mom threatened us."

The twins shot their mother a look, who returned it with a stern one of her own. Feeling better about it, Harry pulled off the lid and looked inside. A pair of dark green leather boots met his eyes and he pulled them out to examine them.

"Those are nice dragon hide boots, made from a Welsh Green."

"We figured since the Welsh green was on the Potter Family Crest it would be suitable"

Harry looked surprised at that bit of info. He had never seen the Potter Family Crest and so had no idea the Welsh Green was on it. Remus was suppose to be taking him to Gringotts tomorrow and he'd probably be able to get his first look at his family crest.

"Thanks guys."

"Its the least we could do," as one twin said it, the other one gave him a significant look.

Harry understood what it meant. He had given them a thousand galleons, his winnings from the Tri-Wizard tournament, to start their joke shop. He was the reason they could make Fainting Fancies, Fever Fudges, Nosebleed Nougats, Puking Pastilles and Raspberry Rashes (gives you a Gryffindor-red rash on a different part of your body every time).

"This one's from me." Neville handed him a book-shaped package.

It wasn't as big as the one Hermione gave him, but upon opening it, Harry found a decent sized book; 'Wounded in the Wild; What Herbs and Plants Can Save Your Life'. Harry flicked to a page and saw that White Dittany could both heal a cut and help heal burns. The book might prove useful, especially since Herbology was not a strong point of his and the OWLS were coming up.

"Thanks Neville! Hopefully I won't need this knowledge but it won't hurt to know it."

Neville returned Harry's smile with a timid one of his own. The teen had started to come out of his shell last year but he was still a long way away from becoming confident in himself and his abilities.

Sirius handed him another present. Opening it up Harry was faced with a chess pieces. He automatically looked at Ron.

"This way you can have your own chess set to play with. It's based off famous people in United Kingdom history. Merlin is the king, Morgana the Queen, Huffelpuff and Ravenclaw are the bishops, Gryffindor and Slytherin are the Knights, Dumbledore and Newt Scamander are the rooks and the pawns are a bunch of other ones I don't remember."

"So now I have my own pieces to get beat with?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Pretty much," Ron replied, also grinning.

Mr. And Mrs. Weasley had gotten him a new watch, which looked quite expensive.

"Thank you guys! My old watch went dead after the second task. This is exactly what I needed." Mrs. Weasley looked pleased at Harry's praise.

Ginny, who shyly passed him his gift, had gotten him a Sugar Quill Bonanza package. The package contained a hundred sugar quills, which were Harry's favorite candy. He really wanted to take out a sour apple one, his personal favorite, but stopped himself. He thanked Ginny profusely, causing her to turn red and stare at the ground.

"This is the last one, its from Remus," Sirius said.

Harry took the small package, unwrapping it. Inside he found a piece of dragon hide with a long pocket and two thin straps. He held it in his hands, examining it because he had no idea what it was.

"It's a wand holster. You can strap it around your forearm or your ankle. It has an anti-summon charm on it so no one can summon it from you."

"That's awesome Remus, thanks."

Remus smiled warmly at him, knowing that even though it wasn't as expensive as Sirius's present, Harry appreciated it just the same. It was partly because of who he was and partly because growing up with no presents meant that whatever presents he did get were always appreciated.

"Actually Harry, that isn't the last one. Katie, Angelina, Oliver and I also got you something," Alicia stated.

"Oliver wanted to come but he couldn't. Puddlemere has a game against the Harpies tomorrow and even though Oliver's the backup Keeper he still has to be at the practice they are holding today."

Harry nodded at Angelina's explanation. It made sense that they would need Oliver there, probably to help in a small scrimmage between the team's players. Or maybe as an extra Beater, to really raise the Chaser's awareness, since Oliver was decent with a bat.

"Come on, its outside in the boot of the car." Katie stood up, extending her hand to the sitting Harry.

Placing his hand in Katie's, Harry was pulled to his feet. She led him out of the house, where she finally released his hand. The other followed them and Sirius, who had the keys to the car, opened the boot. Inside sat a large, heavy looking trunk.

"Its a professional set of Quidditch balls. It contains four Bludgers, three Quaffles, eight bats and a snitch."

Harry and Ron both let out a whistle at that. That was a lot more then the Hogwarts sets had, or the standard one they had seen in Quality Quidditch store. Plus with his own Quaffle Harry could practice catching and throwing the ball, something he'd have to be able to do if he wanted to switch to Keeper.

"This is great guys! I can practice for my switch to Keeper."

* * *

"Harry?"

The teen in questioned turned around and found himself face to face with Kat, the muggle girl from yesterday, and a few of her friends. There was two guys and three girls, all of who started their own conversation upon noticing that Harry and Kat were about to start their own.

"Hey Kat. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good. What's with the packages?" She indicated the boxes Harry carried in his grip.

"Oh, it's my birthday today and I had some friends over at my godfather's. These are the presents I was able to carry home."

"Happy birthday! Why didn't you tell me today was your birthday when we hung out yesterday?"

Harry shrugged. "Didn't seem important. Er...are you guys going somewhere?"

Kat look confused for a minute before remembering that she was with her friends. "Oh, yeah! We were going to see that American movie Braveheart. My parents went to see it a few weeks ago and were outraged at the way the Americans made us Brits seem. Since we had nothing better to do, we figured we go see it."

"Uncle Vernon was talking about that. Kept going on about those bloody yankees." Harry smirked, remembering his uncle's rant about how the colonies were lucky Vernon P. Dursley wasn't alive back during the American War for Independence because he'd have won it for the British single handedly.

"Do you want to come with us?"

Green-eyes widened a bit in surprise at the question. He and Kat had hung out once, yesterday over some slices of pizza. While they had gotten along alright he didn't think it went so well that she would invite him to hang out with her friends he had never met before.

"Uh, sure. Just let me put these in my room real quick."

Harry walked quickly to Number Four, which was several houses down from where he was. The local movie theater was a decent twenty minute walk north from their neighborhood. Sirius and Remus lived closer to it then Number Four, but since he was right there he figured it would be easier just putting his presents down in his room.

He didn't even bother being silent, his feet tromping up the wooden stairs with loud 'thuds.'

"What's with all that racket? Boy if thats you, you better cut it off!"

Harry didn't reply to his uncle's shout, instead shouldering his door open and placing his presents on the ground. Checking himself in the mirror he saw that he looked fine. Racing out his room, he again made a racket.

"I'm telling you now boy, anymore noise and I'll beat you into silence!"

"Whatever you say Uncle Vernon!" Harry shouted, bolting from the house.

He found Kat and her friends standing exactly where he left them. He approached them with a nervous smile, wondering if the night was going to end well.

* * *

"Let's see..." The goblin, Ragnok, glanced over a bunch of parchments he held in front of him. He nodded his head as he shuffled them around, humming every now and then in agreement with something. "You are the heir of the Potter family and as soon as you sign some papers, do a blood test and get accepted by the Potter ring, you will become the head of the Potter family. You were made heir of the Black family on August 3rd, 1980 by Sirius Orion Black which is to be revoked if Mr. Black sires any children. You were made heir of the Gryffindor family on June 25th, 1992 by Albus Dumbledore. You of course have the right to claim headship of the Gryffindor family at any time if you so like."

The goblin looked at Harry expectantly. "No thanks. If I am to become the head of it eventually, there is no reason to speed up the process."

"Of course, of course. Most purebloods I meet with can't wait to get more money in their pocket and titles added to their name." Ragnok continued to look through papers. "You can claim headship of the Lawson family if you so wish, as well as the Kingston family."

"Er, who are the heads of those families?" Harry asked.

"Well the Lawson family is currently headed by Augusta Longbottom, until her grandson Neville becomes of age. Your paternal grandmother was the eldest child of Christopher Lawson. His son, the middle child, was the head of the family but died three years after taking the position and having no children or no heir, the position was up for grabs between the two sisters. Neville's maternal grandmother was the youngest Lawson child. Since you are descended from the older daughter, you can rightfully claim the position, which your grandmother and father didn't do."

Harry shook his head . "No. The Longbottoms are friends of mine. They can keep it."

"Certainly. The Kingston family is currently headed by Lucius Malfoy. Your mother..."

Harry cut the goblin off. "My mother? My mother was a muggle-born!"

"No, no. Common misconception by everyone but those who bother to check. Your mother was the daughter of Charles Kingston, who changed his last name to Evans after running away from his family. Charles was the first born, but he was also born a squib and when he didn't receive his Hogwarts letter his mother started to plot to get rid of him because she wanted the daughter, her favorite, to become the heir. Unfortunately for her, Charles' father still loved his son and even though the child ran away at fourteen, he refused to remove him as his heir. However, until Charles' heir claims the position, then it will be held by the son of Charles' younger sister, which is Lucius Malfoy."

"So my mother is a half-blood?"

"Correct."

Harry remembered what Aunt Petunia said the day Hagrid had come to give him his Hogwarts letter. '_Oh they were so happy to have a witch in the family._'

"Which means, she's cousins with Lucius Malfoy...ew! And that means I'm first cousins, once removed from Draco Malfoy...oh god!" Harry cringed with disgust at the thought of being related to Malfoy. "So if I don't claim my right to be head of the Kingston family then it remains in the Malfoy possession?'

"Yes."

"Than I'll do it."

"Good. That will involve more paperwork, blood test and acceptance of the ring."

Harry looked to Remus who had remained silent during all of this. "I'm surprised the Potters only have two other connections besides Gryffindor."

"Mr. Potter has two dozen connections to other families that have died out but they are already claimed by people who have more of a right to the position then Mr. Potter himself," Ragnok explained. "And here is the paperwork for both families, as well as the Potter family tree."

Remus reached forward and grabbed the paperwork, having more experience with these types of things and started to look over them. As he did so, Harry took the Potter family tree and looked it over. He was related to dozens of fellow Hogwarts students, though the relationships were distant. His closest relative, closer then Draco Malfoy even, was Roger Davies, who he was cousins with. Apparently Roger's father married his aunt, Isabelle Potter-Davies, three years before Harry was born and they had Roger a year after that. Then his aunt died six months before Harry was born. He wondered why Roger had never approached him about their relation. Hell he wondered why no one had ever told him his dad had an older sister, even if she was dead.

"Remus how come you never told me I had an aunt?"

The werewolf looked up from the paperwork he was reading, a frown on his face. "Your aunt was six years older then your father. She was kicked out of the family when she graduated because she was a Death Eater sympathizer, might have even become one for all we know. Your grandparents were ashamed of her after finding out. James still kept in contact with her, exchanging letters every now and then. When she got married at the end of our sixth year she invited James and Sirius to the wedding, and they both went mostly because James missed his sister. She tried recruiting them to join the Death Eaters. James cut off all ties with her after that. Wanted nothing to do with a Death Eater."

Harry widened his eyes at that. Maybe thats why no one mentioned his aunt. Someone from his own family was a Voldemort supporter, which wasn't something he was expecting. He decided not to dwell on it but vowed to talk to Sirius about it later.

Tracing his line back he saw that sometime in the 1300's the last name had changed from Peverell to Potter. He also saw in the beginning of the 1100's where the only daughter of Godric Gryffindor's oldest son married into the Peverell family.

"Everything looks as it should," Remus stated, looking up.

"Did you expect anything less from Gringotts?" Ragnok asked.

"No, but with him being Harry Potter, you can never be careful," the Werewolf replied. "You can sign it whenever you are ready Harry."

A quill was presented to him and the last of the Potters took it with some trepidation. He signed everywhere he was suppose to, his messy scribble looking out of place on the neat writing of the papers.

"Right, just let several drops of blood fall on each parchment so we can verify that you belong to both families."

Two pieces of green parchment and a ceremonial dagger were placed in front of Harry. He picked up the knife, not sure exactly where he should cut. He glanced at Remus who did a cutting motion across his palm. Nodding, Harry placed the blade of the dagger against his sweaty left palm and yanked down.

He winced, biting his lip to prevent from crying out. Tears prickled at his eyes but he refused to let them fall. Opening up his palm, which had closed instinctively after being cut, he held it over one parchment, then the other. Blood dripped off his palm, littering the green parchments with red dots.

As the goblin snatched up both parchments, Remus gently took the teen's hand and ran his wand over the wounds. A warm and tingly feeling filled his palm and before his green eyes could blink, the gash in his hand was gone.

Both of the green parchments started to glow; one gold, the other bronze. Ragnok seemed pleased with this.

"You are related to both bloodlines, as we knew. You are the direct heir to the Potter family, as we knew. You are also the primary heir to the Kingston family, which again we knew."

The small creature reached behind his desk, pulling out two ornate looking boxes, each one baring a shield. He placed them both in front of the teen. One shield was of a green Welsh Green against a black shield, two silver stars on each side of the dragon. The other was a green shield with a yellow centaur, its front legs kicking out in the air and a spear clutched in its hand.

"That's the Potter family crest," Remus said, nodding at the one with the Welsh green.

Harry traced the crest on the box, thinking of a life that might have been. A life with parents and siblings. Shaking his head, he slowly opened the lid. Inside was a gold ring with the Potter crest between two rubies. Picking it up, he examined it, but that seemed to be all there was. Harry looked at Remus, unsure which finger to put it on.

"Right ring finger."

Harry nodded his thanks, slipping the ring on said finger. A gold light flashed throughout the office, causing Harry to blink. The ring on his finger, which had been too big before, shrank till it fit his finger perfectly.

He looked at the other box, opening it. There was no ring in there at first and Harry looked confused. However, right before his eyes a silver ring with a circle of diamonds appeared. Picking it up and examining it, he saw that on the underside of the circle of diamonds, on the side that pressed against the skin of his finger, was the Kingston crest.

Remus was wiggling his middle finger, so that was the one Harry put it on. This time a bronze flash filled the air as the ring shrank to fit his finger. The teen looked at Ragnok, who looked quite please with himself.

"Thank you Ragnok."

"No problem Mr. Potter. Would you like to see your new vaults?"

Harry thought of it. He really wanted to see the Potter family vault, but felt it might take too long. It was already five in the afternoon, bordering on evening. "Not right now. Maybe before I go back to Hogwarts. Could I just withdraw several hundred pounds?"

"Of course Mr. Potter." The goblin reached into his desk and pulled out a muggle wallet made of leather. He waved his gnarled hand over the wallet and it let off a blue glow for a few seconds. "This is keyed to your trust vault. When holding it, just think of the amount of muggle currency you wish to have and it shall appear. I should warn you that standard Gringotts exchange rates do apply."

"Thanks. This should come in handy."

"Is that all your business here in Gringotts?"

"Yes, Ragnok that is," Remus replied, standing.

Harry followed suit, thanking the goblin as they exited the room. As they were entering the main lounge of Gringotts, Lucius Malfoy was storming in, unadulterated fury on his face.

"One of my family rings has disappeared from my finger! I demand to know what happened to it!"

* * *

The two wizard raised teens couldn't get over the football game. It wasn't nearly as fast paced as Quidditch but it was still exciting to watch, mostly because of the crowd around them. Muggles were crazy over football and the excitement and rowdiness had passed down to the wizarding teens who had no idea how the sport was played until that afternoon.

The excitement had finally died down as they laid to rest in the living room of the Marauder House. Sirius had conjured cots for them to lay on, banishing the couches that usually littered the room to the side. He and Remus had gone to bed hours ago but the teens had stayed up to introduce Neville and Ron to movies, the Star Wars saga to be precise. Now they all just lay in their beds, tired from the day but unwilling to go to sleep.

"So Harry, how are things with that Kat girl working out?" Seamus asked.

Harry turned from staring at the ceiling to staring at the Irish teen. "Good."

Seamus moved so he was leaning on his elbow, his upper torso raised above the bed. "Just good huh? Have you shagged her yet?"

The others all turned to Harry expectantly and he blushed under their amused and anxious looks. "Er...no."

"Why the bloody hell not?" Dean burst out, feeling like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world for Harry not to have shagged the cute blond.

"I don't see any of you having girlfriends. Or losing your virginity for that matter," Harry muttered defensively.

That seemed to silence Dean up, but Seamus wasn't to be deterred. "Well this ain't about us, mate! It's all about yeh!" His Irish accent, even though it was almost nonexistent now, still made the "you" sound more like a "yeh"

"I don't...er I don't think we'll be going that far. I only met her two weeks ago and its not like we even started snogging until a couple days ago. Besides we go back to Hogwarts in two weeks. Not enough time for such a thing to occur, see?" Harry tried to explain, knowing it probably wouldn't satisfy Seamus. He didn't want to mention that he was terrified to go beyond kissing. He was only fifteen years old and the thought of doing what Seamus was suggesting he should do, well it scared him.

"I'm just saying, you have a shot none of us have had yet. Of course once we get back to Hogwarts the ladies won't be able to keep their hands and lips off me, so you better take that shot now."

"Yeah right!" Ron guffawed.

"You wish!" Neville added, his voice sounding embarrassed about the topic they were talking about.

"Well its true lads! I can't help it if you're in denial!"

Dean hit him with his pillow, shutting the bragging Irish teen up. Seamus went to swing his pillow at Dean, but Harry hit the sandy-haired wizard in the face first.

"Two against one! Hardly a fair fight! But I shall prevail!" he proclaimed before throwing himself at Dean, pillow swinging.

Harry was about to join the fray, aiming his pillow at Seamus's head, when he was hit with a pillow in the stomach. He glanced at Ron who had swung the object at him, a look of mock-horror on his face.

"Betrayal!" he cried, swinging at Ron.

The redhead ducked underneath the attack and Neville, the only one to have stayed in his bed, got hit instead. Blinking rather owlishly, Neville slowly rose from his cot. He grabbed his pillow with one hand, pointing it at the pair of Ron and Harry who were staring at him and trying not to laugh.

"Prepare to feel my wrath!" Neville shouted, swinging wildly at the two male members of the Golden Trio.

It broke out into an all out war that was broken up when Remus came down the stairs, to reprimand them all. Unfortunately for Remus, he forgot who his best friend was. Therefor he had no idea Sirius had snuck down the stairs behind him until Sirius started to hit the werewolf. Not one to take it lying down, Remus conjured his own pillow and started to attack his friend back. Another war broke out and lasted until the five teens fell on their cots exhausted. Remus may have seemed docile but when he hit you with a pillow it hurt. That werewolf strength of his was frightening.

* * *

"How was the football match?" Kat asked as they did their warm down stretches.

When Harry had told her he went running every morning at seven, she had asked if she could join him. He had agreed and they had been running together for a little over a week now. When they had first run together Harry had trouble not staring at her in gym shorts and a sports bra. However, he had liked to think he had gotten over staring at her like an idiot, even if he did take a few peeks.

Harry grinned, remembering the fun he had with his friends. "Bloody brilliant. Though we almost got into a scuffle with some Arsenal blokes. Dean wouldn't stop talking shit and I thought poor Neville was gonna have a heart attack before any fist were thrown."

"You think you would have done any better?" she asked, teasingly with a raised eyebrow.

"I've been getting pummeled on by Dudley since I could walk. Those blokes punches would feel like feathers."

Standing up, Harry went to walk back to his house, so he could shower, but was stopped.

"Harry, do you want to hang out after our showers?"

He glanced down at Kat, who was still sitting on the ground. "Er...and do what?"

"I figured we could go swimming at my house before going to get lunch."

She looked at him nervously and he could tell he himself probably looked nervous. "Sure. I'll just go home and take a quick shower..."

He trailed off, realizing he didn't have a swimsuit. However, before he could mention this Kat had already run off into her house. Cursing to himself, Harry ran to the Marauder house rather then Privet Drive.

He burst into the house to see Sirius, his skin color neon pink launching a spell at Remus. Remus, who wasn't able to dodge in time, was hit by the spell and tentacles came out his nose, flailing around in front of his face. Harry stared dumb founded as the two of them dueled with prank spells.

"Oi! I need help, stop acting like your my age!" They stopped, Sirius in the middle of a curse, and turned toward the teen. "I need to shower here and then one of you is gonna transfigure my running shorts into swim trunks."

He didn't wait for either of them to answer, marching up the stairs to the bathroom. He heard them resume dueling as soon as he was out of sight. And when he walked down the stairs six minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist and his running shorts in his hands, they were still at it.

"Ahem."

He held up the shorts expectantly. Sirius twirled around, hitting Harry's shorts with a spell before launching a curse at Remus. Harry nodded his head, marching up the stairs with the new trunks. Sirius was better at transfiguration then Remus was, so the shorts should last for several hours at least.

After changing he went back down the stairs and saw that the two older men were still at it. Ducking underneath a stray spell, he exited the house and proceeded to walk to Kat's. She was sitting on the stoop of her house, nervously playing with her hair.

"My parents are at work so we have the house to ourselves," she said upon seeing him.

Harry suddenly felt himself get very nervous as she led him through the house and to her backyard. It was larger then the Dursley's backyard and was mostly taken up by an in-ground pool.

A motion to his left caught his eye. Turning Harry could see that Kat was taking off her shorts and t-shirt, revealing the bikini she wore underneath it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, eagerly taking in her form. He would be going to Hogwarts in two weeks but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy those two weeks right?

Harry slowly removed his shirt, for the first time being self conscious about his body. He had been putting on weight but years of starvation and stunted growth couldn't be outdone that quickly. He noticed Kat staring at him as he tossed his shirt to the side and quickly kicked off his shoes. Kat, after a quick shake of her head, jumped into the water and after pulling off his socks, Harry joined her.

They swam around for a bit, enjoying the cool water against their skin, and made small talk. Harry struggled a little with swimming at first, since the only time he had ever swam was during the second task in the Tri-Wizard tournament. However, he learned what to do quickly and didn't make too much of a fool of himself. His biggest problem was that he couldn't stop staring at Kat in her bikini. His hormones were running rampant.

It happened when Kat had swam up behind him and dunked him under the water. Harry had turned around and returned the favor and it had turned into a wrestling match. That is until Kat's arm brushed against an erection Harry didn't realize he had. They both pulled away from each other as if shocked.

"I...erm..." Harry trailed off, not knowing what to say in such a situation.

They stared at each other with wide eyes. Slowly, tentatively, Kat reached out with her hand and grasped Harry's erection through his bathing suit with her hand, causing Harry to suck in his breath at the touch. She grasped it firmly in her grip, her cheeks covered in a blush and her eyes staring right at Harry's tent.

Then a car door slammed and they pulled away from each other again. A masculine voiced called out; "Kat, I'm home!"

"My dad's home early!" Kat cried.

Harry's eyes bugged out as he thought about what had just happened and what her father might have walked in on.

* * *

"Where is Remus?" Harry asked, walking into the living room.

"Remus is trying to recruit a young werewolf to join the Order. We have word that Fenrir Greyback is trying to recruit him to Voldemort's side."

"Who's Greyback?"

Sirius looked like he was hesitant to answer. "He's a viscous werewolf who is the main reason hatred for werewolves have risen in the pass forty years. He was the one that bit Remus when he was just a child."

Harry's mouth formed an 'O' as he heard that. Then an idea came to him, Remus was the responsible one, the one who made sure Sirius didn't get to out of hand or say to much. "Can you tell me about the Order?"

His godfather looked uncomfortable. This was obviously something he was conflicted over. Should he tell Harry about the Order or not?

"Please?"

"Well if Dumbledore didn't want me talking about it he would have vowed me to silence yeah?" Sirius let out a nervous chuckle.

"Right now we only have fourteen active members. Most of the old members, they want nothing to do with the war. When Voldemort was killed the first time around we had lost over twenty-five of our members. Your parents, the Longbottoms, Marlene McKinnon, Edgar Bones, Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborn, Dorcas Meadow and Gideon and Fabian Prewett just to name a few."

The Marauder got a far away look on his face, probably remembering all the people he knew that had been killed during the last war. Harry let his godfather remember for a few minutes before gently clearing his throat.

"Anyway, we have six sleeper agents we can activate if we need them. That includes one in Romania, one in Egypt..."

Harry cut him off. "You mean Charlie and Bill Weasley?"

"Right. Obviously being best friends with Ron you'd know where they worked. We also have one in France, one in Bulgaria..." Harry went to open his mouth again but Sirius beat him to it. "Which you probably figured out are Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum." Harry nodded his head. "The other two are members of the Ministry, in case a situation arises when we need their help. Obviously, I can't give you the names.

"Out of our active members you know Arthur Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Moody, Hagrid, Remus and I. Then there is Tonks, who is my metamorphagus cousin and a new Auror recruit. Kingsley is a Captain in the Aurors and is in charge of my case. Dung is a thief who owes Dumbledore a lot of favors and is an informant for the underground world of crime. Doge is a former Auror, he retired in '86. Diggle is part of the Department of Magical Transportation, where we have at least six suspected Death Eaters working. Emmeline Vance is a healer in St. Mungo's. Hestia Jones is Fudge's secretary so we have an ear on the inside. Podmore works at a pub in a Glasgow, in its magical section."

Harry frowned at that, didn't seem like many of the members were actual fighters. It seemed to be made up of mostly informants.

"Our current headquarters is Gryffindor Manor, which is located in Wales. Its actually in the same town your parents were...where they were killed; Godric's Hollow. We also have this house, an apartment in London and a house in Hogsmeade as back-up bases, in case anything happens to headquarters.

"As of right now, we know that Voldemort is gathering his old followers, recruiting new members and trying to get allies amongst the humanoid beings like werewolves and giants. I should warn you he's recruiting heavily amongst recent Hogwarts graduates and students still in school. You really need to watch yourself this year Harry, Hogwarts isn't safe anymore. We have information that among the fifth, sixth and seventh years he has over a dozen Slytherins, a handful of Ravenclaws, a few Hufflepuffs and even a Gryffindor or two..."

Sirius waited a beat, to let the information sink in before continuing. "We are doing the same thing of course, except for the whole student thing. Dumbledore refuses to involve students unless he can't help it. We are also trying to tag Death Eaters and potential Death Eaters, to follow them around and know their whereabouts."

"You mentioned earlier that there are at least six potential Death Eaters in the Department of Magical Transportation. Why don't you guys do anything about that?"

Sirius sighed, having obviously heard arguments about this several times. "Until we can prove they are Death Eaters or have proof they have broken the law, there is really nothing we can do. Actually, I should say there is nothing we can really do legally. And right now, with the precarious position he's in with the Minister, Dumbledore really doesn't want to do anything that might get him in trouble."

"Why would Dumbledore and Fudge be in a precarious position? As far as I know Fudge has always come running to Professor Dumbledore whenever he needed help." Harry looked at his godfather expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"You obviously haven't been reading the Daily Prophet recently have you?"

The teen scowled at the mention of that slandering paper. "Not since they printed some awful things about Hermione last year."

"Merlin Harry! Remus and I thought you knew and just didn't want to talk about!"

"Well what the hell have they been saying?"

"That Voldemort isn't really back. That you're a lying, attention seeking brat. That Dumbledore has finally lost his marbles. Dumbledore is barely holding on to his position in the Wizengamot. Fudge doesn't trust him and is doing everything in his power to get Dumbledore thrown out of the government. Remember what Remus told you? About Fudge not liking to disrupt the status quo? Well admitting Voldemort is back will disrupt the status quo."

His eyes widened at what Sirius told him. "Are you kidding me? Those sodding wankers!"

He stood up in anger, pacing around the room. Swear words he had heard from the twins and Dudley flying from his mouth. Sirius listened to everything with a shocked look on his face, mostly because he didn't know Harry knew so many swear words, both magical and muggle.

"Calm down Harry! The Prophet is in Fudge's pocket. There is nothing you can do about it besides show people that you aren't an attention seeking liar."

Harry whirled on his godfather. "To hell there isn't! This is slander! I think my word deserves to be heard! Aren't there other papers?"

"Er...not really anything as widespread as the Prophet. Mostly small local papers. Unless you count some magazines."

The teen snapped his fingers. "That's it. Witches Weekly! I can do an article with them."

Sirius looked thoughtful at that. "Well, it wouldn't be as credible as the Daily Prophet but it could work. Give people something to think about. I'll run it by Dumbledore. He knows how to deal with the press so he can get everything set up for you."

Harry shook his head, trying to get rid of the anger he felt. How did they think Cedric died? Did they think he just suffered a heart attack or something? Did they...did they think Harry murdered him?

"Sirius, do they think I murdered Cedric?"

"They aren't saying it outright but sometimes they suggest it. Say its odd that one minute you and Cedric are reaching for the Tri-Wizard cup and then next thing anyone knows the two of you are appearing out of no where and he's dead."

"Merlin's beard," Harry whispered to himself.

Sirius patted his godson on the shoulder in comfort. He would have said something to help ease Harry's mind but a large barn owl swooped into the room, cutting him off. The owl dropped a thick envelope on Harry's head before soaring back out.

Sirius snatched the letter from Harry's head, where it was balancing precariously. "It's from Hogwarts."

Harry took it, tearing the envelope open and pulling out the sheets of parchment. Sirius looked like he was expecting something more in the letter and peered at the bulk.

"So you weren't made a Prefect?"

"Huh?" Was Harry's well thought out reply.

"If you were made a Prefect the badge would have more then likely fell out when you pulled out all those papers."

"Hmm. Guess Dumbledore didn't think I deserved it."

Sirius snorted. "That's rubbish. McGonagall told me she recommended you, and really to be made a prefect thats all you need is the head of house's recommendation. The headmaster has never gone against a Head of House's recommendation, at least as far as I know."

"Then I guess she either changed her mind or Dumbledore went against her wishes." Although he said is nonchalantly, Harry was still a little upset Dumbledore didn't think him worthy of being a Prefect.

"Anyway, your dad and I weren't Prefects. Remus was. So was your mom come to think of it."

"Dad wasn't a Prefect? But I thought he was Head Boy?"

"He was. You don't need to be a Prefect to be Head Boy though. Prefects are elected by the head of their house. Most of the time its a teacher's favorite students. Although your dad was McGonagall's favorite she refused to make him one because of his rule breaking, which was way worse the Remus', who was the tame one of the group. Getting elected Head Boy means a majority of the professors need to think three things of you; that you can handle stress, that the students look up to you and that you can be a leader. Well, you also have to have good grades too."

Harry nodded as he looked at the first piece of parchment. It was the standard letter welcoming him to Hogwarts and telling him about the start of term. The next one was his supply list, which was generally the same as last years with some newer books, a more advanced potions kit, dress robes (again) and a dueling robe.

"A dueling class? Is that going to be like the dueling club?"

Sirius looked surprised at that. "Dumbledore is starting up the dueling class again? Remus told me he got rid of it after Voldemort was defeated, I guess it would make sense he's starting it again, what with Voldemort being back."

"What is it like?" Harry asked, curious.

"Just someone, usually an Auror or a former dueling champion, teaching you how to duel on the platform and off it, in case you ever find yourself in a fight for your life. According to Remus a lot of parents protested the end of the class because fifteen year old are eligible to enter in the Junior Dueling competitions and without the class many of them have no idea how to duel properly. Which probably explains why Dueling Monthly list the United Kingdom as one of the worst performers in the Junior Dueling competitions."

"You mean I can enter in a dueling tournament?"

"Sure. Your old enough. Though I should warn you that the Junior division is between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one. Fifteen and sixteen year olds rarely win because the others know way more then they do. Heck some of those who compete are fresh Auror recruits, or whatever the equivalent of an Auror is in other countries."

Harry contemplated entering a tournament. It would be a great way to get practice. If Voldemort would keep coming after him then he would need to learn how to be a great duelist. A tournament would pit him against many different duelist and many different styles.

Deciding to wait until he talked to whoever the dueling instructor was going to be, Harry focused his attention back on his Hogwarts letter.

"What's this?" The teen held up a piece of parchment with grades on it.

"Class rankings and your current status. They are to help you prepare for your OWLS by letting you know your strengths and weaknesses."

'Mr Harry James Potter-

Class: Letter Grade (Number Grade) (Rank Out of Students Taking Class)

Astronomy: A+ (79) (18th)

Care of Magical Creatures: O- (92) (4th)

Charms: EE+ (88) (8th)

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O+ (100) (1st)

Divination: D+ (58) (28th)

Herbology: A+ (78) (19th)

History of Magic: P- (63) (34th)

Transfiguration: O- (90) (6th)

Potions: A- (73) (26th)

**Class Rank**: 19th

**Overall Grade**: 80'

"Ouch. Harry besides four classes you aren't doing too good at all."

"Potions shouldn't count! Snape hates me. I'm surprised he even gave me that good of a grade!"

"Sorry kiddo but, thats not an excuse. All teachers are under oaths to be fair and modest when assigning these grades. If Snape really gave you a 73 thats where he honestly thinks your at."

Harry looked down. "Guess I really haven't been trying to hard."

"Hey, if you improve on your Herbology, that should help you in Potions as well. Not by much, mind you but still enough. You should improve in Transfiguration after all the help I've been giving you in that area. However, if you slip anymore in Potions then you won't get an OWL in that."

"How many OWLS can you get?"

"Well the most classes anyone is allowed to take is their seven basic ones they've been taking since first year and then three electives from third on. Only in the four core subjects of DADA, Transfiguration, Charms and Potions can someone get two OWLS, if they get an O+. So if you were to take the max of ten courses than you could get fourteen. Only no one has done that since the 1940's and before that when Dumbledore was in school. A couple people have gotten thirteen, like your mum. Your dad, Remus and I all got twelve."

"So with my grades now, I can get..." Harry quickly did the math "Eight OWLS. That's not too bad."

"Maybe, but as your godfather I gotta tell you, you should be doing better. In fact I know you can do better. Try to get those grades up ok?"

"Sure Sirius."

They sat in silence for a moment before Harry remembered something he wanted to ask Sirius about.

"Sirius, how come you never told me I had another aunt, uncle and cousin?"

Sirius winced. "Isabelle was the black sheep of the Potter family, much like I'm the black sheep of the Black family. Yet, while I moved away from the pureblood supremacist ideology of my family, Isabelle moved toward it against her family's wishes. She was a Ravenclaw and was Head Girl during our first year. She had taken to dating Malcolm Davies, a Slytherin who was close friends with my cousin Bellatrix and Rodulphus Lestrange. When Death Eater attacks started happening, your sister tried to convince your grandparents and James to support Voldemort, so they wouldn't fall victim to him. They all refused and she called them blood-traitors. Your grandfather disowned her, said he didn't want a bigot in the family and that the Potters had been fighters for equality since the days of Merlin and King Aurthur. James was devastated since he used to be really close with Isabelle.

"She invited James and I to her wedding. We went because James hoped she was going to apologize for trying to get the family to support Voldemort. Instead she, along with her new husband and Lucius Malfoy tried recruiting us to be Death Eaters. It almost broke out into a fight but James said the last thing he will ever do for his sister is not ruin her wedding and that after that she was dead to him. We left quickly, with half a dozen wands trained on us. That was the last I ever saw of her and James refused to talk about her again after that moment. She died before you were born. No one knew exactly how but we suspect she was killed by an Auror during a Death Eater raid."


	3. Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts

Jarno - With the boxing thing, I figured Dudley has been practicing it for a couple of months before he ask Harry to spar with him. This way he has built up some endurance, not enough to last more then a few minutes so Harry would usually come out unscathed in their little matches. However, that doesn't mean Dudley wouldn't be able to land a lucky punch every now and a than. Just because Harry is faster, has better instincts and even better reflexes doesn't mean he can dodge every punch Dudley throws, especially if the portly teen is trying combos.

As for Harry switching to Keeper that is more to do with the fact that as a former soccer (football) player who use to be a goalie (keeper), I'm more partial to the position. I'm also taking into account that when Harry was first recruited Oliver said he had the perfect build for a Seeker, small and lean. To me the Seeker position is based off speed and the ability of the broom rider to turn quickly in any direction, based on the movements of the Snitch. The more mass one has the harder it is to do such a thing. Of course I'm not going to make Harry look like a steroid using body-builder but he's still going to be bigger then a Seeker should be. While Harry would be able to easier bump opposing Seekers out of the way, the point would be moot if he couldn't keep up with them. Of course a Firebolt against any other broom would allow Harry to do so but I think I'm going to stick with making him a Keeper.

ladysavay -The whole Sirius thing is my bad. In the first chapter I said he was going to be living with glamors on him so no one would recognize him as Sirius Black. My writing probably suggested that was for the muggles. I should have stated that Sirius was still wearing those glamors at Harry's party so those who didn't know his story wouldn't go running to the Ministry.

As for Dumbledore, he's going to be Harry's mentor. Since Harry is a hormonal teenager there will be times where the two will clash. I did, and still do, get into fights with most adult figures in my life because I'm young, thick headed , crave my independence and think I'm invincible. That's Harry's attitude (well maybe not the invincible part) and he's not going to like some of the things Dumbledore does to try to protect him. So their relationship will be like any normal teenager has with a grandfather/mentor in their life. They have their moments of rebellion but they still respect most everything the person has to say, even if they don't agree with it. Also, Ron is not a Prefect, which is explained in this chapter.

A/N – I want to encourage people to submit reviews with constructive criticism in them (or any type of review at all for that matter). If you feel like the story isn't flowing properly, my writing is sloppy, you don't like where I'm going with a character/plot line or you keep seeing the same grammar/spelling error, then feel free to let me know. I'll try my best to fix the problem or try to explain to you, without giving away any future events, where I'm going with things.

Chapter 3 Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts

Harry picked himself off the floor and shook the soot off his clothes. He had forgone the robe, as it was too hot to be wearing one. Instead he had gone with a simple pair of khaki shorts, a blue t-shirt and a pair of black sneakers.

He brushed his hair out of his eyes, glancing around and looking for his best friends. So far no one had seemed to notice that the Boy-Who-Lived was in their midst. It probably had to do with the fact that he wasn't the small boy they saw in the paper.

Now he stood at five feet seven inches and weighed around ten and a half stones. It had also helped that he had gotten a new pair of glasses. No more thick round frames that made him look like a nerd. Now he had thin rectangular frames that made him look rather dashing if he did say so himself.

Walking to the bar, Harry sat on a stool. He fished out a few knuts from his pocket, spare change from last school year, and put them on the counter.

"I'll take a butterbeer Tom."

"Sure thing."

Tom reached behind the counter and pulled his hand back with a butterbeer in it. He placed the beverage in front of Harry and took the change that the teen had placed there. Nodding his head in thanks, Harry took the bottle and swiveled in his seat so his back was to the bar and he was facing the fireplace.

It was several minutes before the fire flared green and a female figure stepped out. Before the figure even looked up Harry knew it was his best friend from her hair. She had pulled it into a sloppy bun but it was still frizzy and seemed ready to burst from its tight confines any second.

"Hermione!"

The muggle-born witch looked up, smiling upon spotting Harry sitting on the stool. She walked towards him and Harry took the time to examine his best friend. She had lost what was left of her baby fat, making her face more angular. She was pretty and her tanned skin, which gave her a healthy glow, helped emphasize that.

She had finally started to develop womanly curves. She had an apple body, slim waist and hips with a broader bust. Still, with her teeth shrunken, her smile was her best feature. Probably something to do with her parents being dentist. She had really come into her own and Harry had a feeling he was going to have to threaten many males this year.

"I'm a Prefect!" Hermione cried upon seeing him.

"That's great, I knew you'd get it!" He pulled her into a hug. "Do you know who the other Prefect is?"

Hermione pulled away from the hug, a strange look on her face. "Dean Thomas."

"Good for him. He's pretty good at Charms. I think he's the vice president of Charms Club."

"How have you've been since your birthday?" she asked.

"Excellent. I've actually been doing a lot of studying. Mostly Transfiguration and Defense but I've also done some in Herbology as well."

"That's good. How did you do in the class rankings?"

Harry winced, remembering his bad grades. "Not to good. I'm ranked 18th. Besides DADA, Charms, Transfiguration and Creatures, I have pretty bad grades."

"Haven't I told you you need to study more?" she asked with a disapproving look.

"I know, I know. How did you do?"

"I'm number one. I am in the Top 5 for all the classes but besides Arithmancy I'm not the top student in any of the classes."

She was upset by that and Harry knew it was because of her high standards in academics and the fact that she always felt she needed to prove to purebloods that she belonged.

"I managed to find out who is first in each class. I asked Professor McGonagall if she could sent me a list. Here."

**'Astronomy – Su Li, Ravenclaw**

**History of Magic – Terry Boot, Ravenclaw**

**DADA – Harry Potter, Gryffindor**

**Charms – Tracey Davis, Slytherin**

**Transfiguration – Padma Patil, Ravenclaw **

**Potions – Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hufflepuff **

**Herbology – Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor**

**Ancient Runes – Sally-Ann Perks, Hufflepuff **

**Arithmancy – Hermione Granger, Gryffindor**

**Muggle Studies – Kevin Entwhistle, Ravenclaw**

**Divination – Lavender Brown, Gryffindor**

**Care of Magical Creatures - Stephen Cornfoot, Ravenclaw'**

"You think Ron did good?" Harry asked, looking up from the piece of parchment.

"No offense to Ron, Harry but you're smarter then him and you didn't do too good."

Harry frowned at that but realized Hermione was right. Ron rarely ever studied, usually playing chess or reading a book on Quidditch instead.

"Hermione! Harry!"

Ron had stepped out of the fireplace and his almost six foot frame was easily able to look over the crowded pub. He was still all limbs, his gangly form moving clumsily through the tables. His shoulders were broad, his hands big and his feet even bigger. He still had to grow into his body and right now he looked awkward.

The patrons in the pub finally noticed Harry. Some shot him glares, some shot him looks of hero-worship and a few got up to approach him. The crowd approaching him was led by a hobbling old man with a red face, who did not look happy to see Harry at all.

"Cedric Diggory didn't deserve what you did to him!" The old man all but snarled, poking Harry in the chest.

Harry resisted the urge to slap the man's hand away from him. He told himself he wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him today. "What happened to Cedric Diggory was worse then a tragedy. He was a great wizard. Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to do my school shopping."

"Martin Kruger, Mr. Potter. Pleasure to meet you. I don't believe a word that Prophet says." An eager looking blond haired wizard babbled out, grabbing the Boy-Who-Lived's hand and shaking it vigorously.

"That's enough now. Everyone leave Mr. Potter alone!" Tom shot some sparks out of his wand, scaring away the red-faced old man.

"You don't see us crowding around you when you go shopping do ya?" Ron snapped, shooing away a few gawkers.

Mumbles went up through the crowd as a they slumped off, one by one. Soon they had all gone back to their seats, leaving Harry alone.

"Thanks Tom."

The toothless barman smiled. "No problem Harry. And for the record I think the Prophet is full of crock."

"Thanks," Harry said, returning the smile.

"Sorry about that mate," Ron mumbled, scratching his head. The redhead had grown out his hair, making it long and shaggy.

"S'alright," Harry responded.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Hermione finally burst out, "How did you do in the rankings?"

Ron's face showed it all. Obviously he hadn't done too good. "I'm 31st. Mum wasn't happy at all. Besides Defense and Care of Magical Creatures I didn't get above an A+."

"That's what you get for slacking off! How many times have I told you to study and you went off to play chess!?"

Harry, who could see a row building, decided to step in. "You guys can discuss this later. I'm not gonna have you two rowing the entire time."

Hermione turned in a huff, while Ron made a face at her back. Rolling his eyes, Harry gave the redhead a shove toward the back door. Ron stumbled a bit before straightening himself up.

Hermione had already opened up the entrance and the two males just followed her through. Diagon Alley looked just like it always did, grubby and crowded. Gringotts stood out like it always did, its clean white marble looking out of place in the dirty brick and wood that all other stores were made of.

"I need to exchange some money," Hermione stated, holding up a stack of pounds.

"That's alright, I need to withdraw some galleons."

Ron meekly held up a small bag that probably only had a few galleons and sickles in it. Trying to hide his sympathetic look, Harry led the way to Gringotts, glaring at anyone who even looked like they were going to approach him. Probably not the best way to get the people on his side, but he wanted to shop in peace.

When they finally made it into Gringotts they split up. Harry went to a normal teller while Hermione and Ron, who was curious about muggle currency and the exchange of it into galleons, went to a exchange teller.

"How can Gringotts help you today?"

"I'd like to visit my vault please."

The goblin looked down its nose at Harry, as if sizing him up. "And do you have a key?"

"Er...no, but I do have a ring." Harry held up his right hand, wiggling the finger with the Potter ring.

"Sillburn!" A rather tall goblin came hobbling over. "Take Mr. Potter to his vault please."

"Follow me," Sillburn muttered.

Harry did so, walking through the doorway that led to the caverns and tunnels. They had to wait a few seconds for a cart to appear before the two of them climbed in.

"Keep your hands in the cart."

It was all the warning the goblin gave before the cart went shooting forward. Harry was jerked back in his spot, air whipping pass his face. The ride was a lot longer then it usually took, which meant the Potter family vault was farther down then his trust vault.

"Vault twenty-six, the Potter family vault."

Harry climbed out, looking curiously at the goblin as it remained seating.

"Goblins are not allowed on the platforms of noble pureblood vaults. Many purebloods were very paranoid," Sillburn explained, noticing Harry's look. "Just put your hand in the statues mouth."

Harry nodded his head in thanks. He took a tentative step toward the vault door, noticing that a statue of a welsh green stood next to the vault door with an open mouth. Stepping toward the statue he cautiously held out his hand before placing it in the dragon's mouth. It flashed red and Harry felt an intense heat wash over his hand before the feeling died down.

With a large groan the vault door slowly swung open, revealing its contents. In one corner there was a large stack of galleons, sickles and knuts, far larger then the pile in his trust vault. Another corner was filled with old trunks which, upon further inspection, were all filled with clothes, most decades old. Another corner was filled with pieces of furniture, a lot of it looking like they belonged in a medieval castle. The final corner was filled with jewelry, most of it gaudy and female. There was a few engagement rings, wedding rings and wedding bands but nothing really of interest.

Nothing in the corners were of particular interest. What was of interest was the center of the room, where several dozen pedestals sat. On top of each pedestal was two wands, one belonging to a former head of the family and the other to his wife. The most recent looking pedestal held the wand of his parents.

With a look of reverence on his face, he slowly picked up his mom's wand. This was the wand that belonged to the woman who loved him so much that she sacrificed her life so that he may live. He put the willow wand down and picked up his father's. A warm-tingly feeling shot up his arm and small sparks shot out the end.

It seemed he was compatible with the eleven inch mahogany wand. With a shrug he carefully put the wand in his pocket, where it joined his own wand. He didn't wear his wand holster because it stood out if he wasn't wearing a robe or long sleeved clothing. Looking through the other wands he found that he was compatible with a twelve and a half inch, ebony wand belonging to an Ignotus Peverell.

Putting that wand in his pocket with the others, he decided he had stayed in the vault long enough. Scooping up a large amount of coins into a small sack, he exited the vault and climbed into the cart. The vault door closed behind him, sealing itself with a loud 'bang.'

"Sillburn would be possible to transfer two hundred galleons into the bank vault of Arthur Weasley? Without them finding out where it came from?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Discretion is what Gringotts is known for."

When he finally made it back to the surface, it was to find an anxious Hermione and an impatient Ron waiting for him.

"Where did you go? The center of the Earth?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er, not quite that far down. Besides its the first time I've been in the family vault," Harry said, in his defense.

"Well now that you're back perhaps we could get shopping. I want to go to..."

"Flourish and Blotts," Ron and Harry said together.

"Honestly Hermione," Ron continued on his own, "can't we do that last? I'd rather not have to carry around a bunch of books the entire time we're shopping."

"We have to visit that Auror supply store to get our dueling robes. That's at the other end of the alley from the main stores. So we'll hit that first and then work our way back to the Leaky Cauldron, hitting up every shop we need to stop at on the way."

The two nodded at Harry's word, it made sense.

* * *

They Auror supply store was filled with robes, books, and a lot of leather.

"Hogwarts?"

The three teens turned to look at the broad-chested middle-aged man behind the counter. His pepper colored hair was tied in a ponytail and his face was littered with scars.

"Yes sir," Hermione answered.

"What house you from?"

"Gryffindor."

"Right, right. Just let me take some measurements so we can get your robe size."

The man snapped his finger and several tape measures came flying at the three of them. The Gryffindors stood still, extending their arms so everything could be measured properly. A piece of parchment and quill hovered around each of the teens, writing down the measurements.

"Dueling robes have sleeves that are slightly baggy so they don't restrict arm and hand movement. The top part buttons up but the bottom half is open and wide, so as not to hinder the mobility of the wearer too much," the man explained in a rehearsed speech.

"What's with all the leather pieces?" Harry asked.

"Ain't leather, it's dragon hide. Use it for a bunch of things. Wand holsters, battle robes and battle armor to name a few," the store owner answered.

"Well what's the difference between battle robes and battle armor?" Ron questioned.

"Battle robes are just that, robes. Battle armor don't cover as much as robes but they are easier to move in. A full set of battle armor includes a vest, gloves, arm guards, thigh protectors, shin guards and boots."

Harry's curiosity was peaked. Battle armor sounded like something he would need. With Voldemort back and trying to kill him, Harry figured he'd need all the protection he could get. He would also need more wand holsters for the extra ones he had taken out of his vault.

"How much would two wand holsters and full battle armor cost?"

The scarred man scratched the side of his head, trying to calculate an answer. "That would run ya between eighty and one hundred and fifty galleons. Depending which hide you want."

"What's the best hide?" Hermione asked, always eager to learn new information.

"Well everybody wants Swedish Short-Snout because of its hide color but the Hungarian Horntail is probably the best. A lot better then the Short-Snout."

"Do you have any of that hide in?"

"Yeah, just got a new shipment in."

Harry grinned, knowing he was going to get some. "Do you guys want a pair?"

"Can't afford it," Hermione stated.

"Me neither."

"I'll pay."

Ron gave him a look that told Harry to just shut up about the idea. Shrugging his shoulders, Harry turned to the owner.

"I'll take a set of battle armor for myself and two wand holsters, one for the hip, one for the ankle."

The man snapped his fingers, the tape measures falling to the ground. The three pieces of parchment flew into the man's hand and he looked them over. Grunting he went into a back room and came back with three robes. They were all a burgundy color with gold lining. He shoved each robe into their own individual bag.

"Each robe is enchanted to defend against weaker hexes and curses. They have cushioning charms in case you take a bad fall and are charmed to allow easy air flow. Each pair of robes is also charmed to grow several more inches upward and outward, which you will all probably need being teenagers. They'll be ten galleons each."

"That was quick." Ron said, blinking owlishly.

"As soon as my parter and I were told we had to make dueling robes for Hogwarts fifth, sixth and seventh years we made a bunch of them, standard size. As your measurements are being taken up here, my partner, who has the connecting parchments to the ones your measurements were being written down on, made the adjustments in the back."

The three teens quickly accepted the robes he held out to them, handing over their money in the process. The man then walked over to a wall and pulled down two wand holsters, which he handed to Harry.

"Horntail hide ain't cheap. That'll be twelve galleons for the two of them. Your armor will be available by the end of October. I'll make them a few inches bigger then your measurements showed since dragon hide can't be charmed to grow as you grow. They'll cost you a hundred and thirty galleons and I'd appreciate it if you left a non-refundable down payment."

"Sure, shouldn't be any problem," Harry replied, counting out twelve galleons for the wand holsters and an extra sixty galleons for the armor.

"I'll owl you when they're ready."

Hermione led the way out of the store, Harry and Ron trailing after her. They didn't really need many new things and so went straight to Madam Malkin's. The twins had purchased Ron his new dress robe and he would be using Percy's robe from seventh year, since those were the only one that fit him. Lucky for Ron, Percy was neat and careful with his stuff and so besides looking a little worn the robes would probably be alright.

Harry's robes were not only too short but they were tight around the chest and arms. Hermione had the same problem with hers. When they were being measured, the woman measuring Harry spent too much time on his inseam, which caused the teen to fidget uncomfortably. They both left the store with several new Hogwarts robes and a pair of dress robes (Hermione's were white with gold trim and Harry's were dark blue with silver trim). Harry had also added several every day robes of different colors, so when he visited wizarding places he would have more to wear then just his school robes.

Next to Madam Malkin's was Flourish and Blott's so they had no choice but to go there next. Hermione immediately ran between a set of shelves, leaving Ron and Harry baffled at how she moved so fast.

Harry took out his list and looked it over. Transfiguration, Astronomy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology were all using the same book as last year. "I'll get the defense and dueling books. You get the Charms, History and Potion books. We'll meet at the counter."

"Sounds good to me," Ron replied, turning toward the Charms section.

The redhead wandered off and Harry walked into the Dueling section. The two books he needed, _Rules of the Dueling Circuit_ by Kenneth Knight and _Your In a Fight For Your Life, What Do You Do?_ by Janet Vestige were fairly easy to find. The two were on their own separate shelf, to make them easier to find for all Hogwarts fifth, sixth and seventh years.

The Defense section was right next to the dueling section, since the subjects intertwined in some areas. He would need two books for Defense as well. _Useful Spells Against Dark Creatures_ by Royce Slayer and _Four Dozen Curses, Hexes and Spells That Can Save Your Life; and Their Counters_ by Alastor Moody were a little harder to find. Apparently Royce Slayer had written a dozen books, all on how to fight dark creatures. The book they were using in defense class was a basic version off all the other books combined into one.

After making sure he had three copies of the four books, Harry worked his way to the front. He passed by Hermione in the Ancient Runes section, where she seemed to be debating between three books, trying to decide which one she was going to buy.

"Ron and I got the Dueling, Defense, Charms, Potions and History books. We'll be at the counter waiting so hurry if you can."

The bushy-haired female nodded her head, showing she heard him. However, she didn't look up from the three books she was comparing. It seemed making sure she got the book that provided the most information was Hermione's top priority.

Ron and Harry purchased their set of books, leaving the extra ones to the side. It was another ten minutes before Hermione approached them, carrying her Ancient Runes and Arithmancy text books, as well as an extra one in the two subjects, an extra Charms book and an extra Transfiguration book.

"I wish my parents would give me more money for books," she complained, placing the heavy looking tomes down on the counter.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in a few days. The library is stacked," Ron pointed out.

"It isn't the same. You two wouldn't understand."

Ron and Harry shared a look behind her back. She was right, they didn't understand it one bit. Then again neither of them were bibliophiles like Hermione was.

None of them paid extra to get the weightless bags and instead had to make due with the regular bags that made the books feel half their weight. Harry took Hermione's bag from her, since the thirteen books she got weighed a good amount, even at half their weight. She smiled gratefully at him

They went into the stationary store next, stocking up on enough parchment and ink wells to, hopefully, last them at least until winter break. Harry also purchased some Augurey quills, liking the look of its green and black feathers. Plus since Augurey feathers repelled ink he didn't have to worry about staining the quill like he had done countless times with other quills.

"Are we going to the apothecary next?" Hermione asked.

"Woah!" Ron and Harry both cried out.

"And skip over Quality Quidditch Supplies?" Ron continued on his own.

"How could you suggest such a thing?" Harry asked, horrified at the thought.

"Honestly woman! Have you no shame?"

Hermione looked at the two of them in amusement. The two males didn't understand how anyone could be so obsessed over books and she couldn't understand how anyone could be so obsessed over a sport.

Ron led the way to the Quidditch store, pushing open its doors with a sort of reverence. The redhead immediately went to the broom display, staring at the newest models with a look of longing. Harry went to the Keeper section, looking at the equipment he would have to wear if he wanted to switch positions.

Seekers wore barely any pads because extra mass and weight meant you met more wind resistance and as a Seeker you needed all the speed you could get. Keeper's on the other hand had a heavy set of pads on the shins, thighs, chest and forearm. Some Keepers even wore helmets, though Harry didn't think he would be one of those.

Hogwarts had several pair of pads for each position, each one a different size. However, they were well worn and the black-haired teen figured he might as well buy his own. He picked up a set of pads, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves that would supposedly give him a better grip on the Quaffle but he really just purchased them because he thought they looked cool.

Hermione was browsing around the store, looking uninterested in everything the store had to offer. Harry waved her over as he walked to the front with his purchases. The broom display sat next to the cashier and Harry could hear Ron muttering, "I'll ask for the Cleansweep 11 for Chrismas. Its not that expensive so hopefully I'll get it."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, this is it," Harry answered.

The teen behind the counter finally looked up and upon noticing who he was talking to, widened his eyes in shock. "Blimey, you're Harry Potter!"

Harry sighed, hating how people liked to point out who he was. "Er...I know."

"I thought you played Seeker? What are you doing buying Keeper gear?"

"I'm thinking of switching positions. I'm sorry, I've never seen you before. Do you go to Hogwarts?"

The teen shuffled embarrassedly. "I go to a private school in Wales."

"Then how do you know which position I play?"

"Its in the Prophet of course. In the Quidditch section, there's reports on all the Hogwarts game. The ones you play in are usually top stories in the sports section," the teen hurriedly explained.

"Right. Just these things then."

"Of course! That will be eighteen galleons and three sickles."

Harry frowned, remembering the pads themselves should cost about twenty galleons and the gloves a galleon and some sickles. Obviously the teen had given him a discount and despite the fact that he wanted to argue, he figured it would be best if he didn't.

He handed over the money without a fuss and accepted his items, which had been placed in a weightless bag, even though the set didn't even weigh ten pounds. Once outside Harry switched his Quidditch gear bag with Hermione's book bag, so her fifty pounds of books would be weightless.

"Lets get the new Potion kits," Harry muttered, walking away from the sports store.

The apothecary smelled like something awful, just like it always did. The advanced potions kits were about twice as large as the basic ones they used before. They were also twice as expensive and despite his anger and embarrassment over it, Ron had to let Harry pay for his, otherwise he wouldn't have enough money.

Harry checked his watch and saw that is was a little before five. "Come on, lets get an early dinner, my treat."

He didn't wait long enough for Ron to protest, opening up the pathway back to the Leaky Cauldron and walking on through. He could hear Hermione and Ron having a whispered argument behind him.

He bumped into someone on his way in, stumbling back some and knocking the person over.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't....Katie?"

The blond witch looked up from her spot on the floor. "Harry nice way to greet a teammate."

Harry flushed in embarrassment, offering his hand. "Sorry about that."

"It's ok," Katie reassured him, allowing the younger teen to pull her to her feet. "Doing your Hogwarts shopping?"

Harry looked at the bags he carried in his hand. "Yeah. Just about to have dinner. Would you like to join us?"

Katie looked at Ron and Hermione, who were standing behind Harry. "No, I just need to stop off at Flourish and Blotts to get a book real quick. Besides eating with the three of you would feel weird."

The bespectacled teen frowned at that. "What do you mean weird?"

"I didn't mean anything offensive about it. By yourselves the three of you are normal teens and I like hanging out with you. Together though your the Golden Trio, the group everyone wants to be a part of but hate because they aren't a part of."

"The Golden Trio? I've never heard anyone call us that before. Is that really how people view us?"

"Most people," Katie answered. "Then there are those who actually hate you, like that Malfoy bloke."

"Yeah, Malfoy has problems. If you're sure you don't want to join us, I'm not going to keep you. I'll see you at Hogwarts yeah?"

Katie smiled at him. "Of course."

The Golden Trio moved out of the way, letting Katie pass by them. Harry watched her for a few seconds before turning back and walking into the pub.

"Tom, can I get a private dining room and some menus please?" Harry asked as soon as he entered, putting what Katie said to the back of his mind.

"Of course Harry. Dining room number three should be open. You guys can go in there. I'll be right in with some menus and three butterbeers."

Harry smiled his thanks at the toothless wizard before steering his friends toward the room. It was a plain room with a wooden table that could seat six. Harry took a seat at the head of the table, Hermione taking the seat to his right and Ron all but throwing himself in the seat to his left.

"I've been learning something new and I want you guys to learn it too. But I want to make sure we won't be disturbed before I tell you."

Harry waited for Tom to drop off their drinks and menu, thanking the barman profusely for his help. Making sure the man was truly gone and the door closed, Harry took out his wand and cast some simple spells around the room.

"Harry! What are you doing!? The Ministry will have you expelled for this!" Hermione screeched, tugging on his wand arm.

"No they won't. The Ministry's way of detecting magic is flawed. Sirius and Remus told me all about it. They only have basic magic detection wards over residence that contain a witch or a wizard. In houses where there are adult witches and wizards they assume it is the parents casting the magic but in houses of muggle-borns they assume, mostly for good reason, that its the underage witch or wizard doing the spell. Therefor purebloods and half-bloods can perform magic all they want at their houses. Hell, we could probably perform magic in areas that consist of nothing but muggles because there would be no detection wards over the area."

Hermione and Ron both looked furious at that information, though it was for different reasons. Harry shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'not my fault.'

"That's discrimination!" Hermione seethed.

"You mean this entire time I could have been doing magic at the house? And my parents never told me?"

Harry gave Ron a look. "Do you honestly think your parents wanted Fred and George casting magic at the house? They were already terrors without it."

That seemed to calm the furious redhead down some. "I guess I can see your point but still..."

"Look at the bright side, you can practice magic now and know you won't get in trouble. If you really are unhappy with your grades you can do some serious practicing for Charms, Transfiguration and Defense." Harry then turned to Hermione, who he could tell was still angry at the system. "We know the systems flawed Hermione, there's nothing we can do about it now."

"Still when I think of all the magic Malfoy and Parkinson have probably been practicing at their houses. No wonder they are so bloody smug when class starts and know the beginning of the year material for the wand classes right off the bat. Not to mention Ron gets to practice magic whenever he wants now and all you have to do is go down the street. I still can't do magic at my house or anywhere near it!"

"School begins in a week. By then it won't matter," Ron pointed out, placing his rather large order.

The tall teen's food appeared in front of him, reminding Harry and Hermione to order their own food. Soon they were all digging into their meals, conversing when their mouths were empty, or in Ron's case only half-way full.

Hermione shot the bad-table-mannered wizard a glare, before looking at Harry. "So what spells did you cast around the room?"

"Oh the first was a basic detection spell, which would help see if their was an invisible person in the room. The second was a animagus detection spell that Sirius taught me because of Skeeter and Wormtail. The last was just a Silencing Charm on the entire room so no one can overhear us.

"Now to get to why I silenced the room. Sirius and Remus have been teaching me to be an animagus."

"Oh think of all the things your learning! I've researched it after we found out about Sirius and your father in third year. Its a combination of the Mind Arts and Transfiguration, real difficult to achieve and not a common ability. Do you know if you can do it yet?"

Harry shook his head at Hermione's question. "The reason why there are so few animagi, even though it isn't that rare, is because in order to even find out if you can become one you have to have a general mental awareness before taking a potion that tells you if you have the ability. Then once you find out you have the ability you have to expand upon that mental awareness, and that takes weeks of meditation, before you take another potion that shows you your form. Finally you have to know your form, let it become a part of you, before you can start to transform."

"It took Padfoot and Prongs three years," Ron said, remembering the story of the Marauders.

"Well they started when they were second years, did it on their own and had to wait for Wormtail. Sirius says my dad would have had it midway through their fourth year and he a little bit after but they agreed to transform for the first time together. Sirius gave me the rundown of it and will assess my progress every time I see him," Harry explained.

"But he wouldn't be helping. Do you think you'd be able to teach it?" Hermione asked.

"No," the Boy-Who-Lived admitted. "However, I can give you my memories to view. Last year I told you I went into Dumbledore's pensieve and saw some of his memories. Sirius says at his old house his father had an animi, which is like a pensieve but only holds one memory at a time. He'll let me have it, though he doesn't know what its for."

"So, we'll watch your lessons with Sirius to see what to do," Ron stated, unsure if what he said was correct.

"Exactly! All he taught me was meditation techniques that would make it easier for me to become aware of myself mentally. Its impossible to actually teach someone how to become better aware of themselves mentally, since each person is different."

Ron seemed pleased that he figured it out. Hermione on the other hand, was chewing on her lip.

"How long will it take? Am I gonna have to spend a lot of time on this? OWLS are this year and I don't want to do poorly because I spent all my time meditating instead of studying. And what if you are already mentally aware of yourself?"

Harry frowned at the amount of her questions. "I've been doing it for a month and a half now and they say I should be ready to take the potion to see if I can become one by the end of September. I only meditate about an hour or two a day. And according to Remus and Sirius only those who have meditated before, along with most martial arts experts and people who practice Occlumency, what ever that is, are mentally aware."

"You know I'm down," Ron said, as if any other answer was just insane.

Hermione didn't look to sure. "I'll wait before becoming one. I don't want to let myself get distracted hit year. Besides sixth years can take the Mind Arts as an extra class, which includes Occlumency. I'll just wait until then."

"Really? I would have thought you'd be all down for learning something new."

"It's not that, its just I heard you can get stuck between transformations if your not careful enough. After what happened in second year I'm kind of afraid of that happening again. I'm also concerned about OWLS. They decide your future and unlike you two, I'm at a disadvantage from the start."

"That's not true..." Harry trailed off at Hermione's look.

"You're the lord of a noble family and Ron is a pureblood. Even if many in the Ministry aren't pureblood supremacist they'll still give the job to the pureblood over the muggle-born if its between two equally qualified candidates."

"If you're sure you don't want to thats fine."

Ron, decided to change the subject. "So, why are you switching to Keeper? Gryffindor won the cup for the first time in six years, since Charlie won it in his fifth year. As long as we get a good Keeper we can probably repeat."

"I never realized it until after the World Cup but Seeker is the position of glory. When the Seeker catches the snitch they end the game and most likely either secure their team the victory or snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Then they get lauded over by the fans, even though for the most part, they do absolutely nothing for most of the match. Even Krum was hailed a hero and his team lost even after he got the snitch. There was more reports on him in the papers then the Irish Chasers, who absolutely dominated that match."

"And you hate glory," Hermione said, following his trail of thought.

Harry nodded his head. "Exactly. I understand I'm the Boy-Who-Lived and that to some people I'm a hero. That doesn't mean I want that or want to add onto that. I don't need nor want people fawning over me because I sat on a broom for a while before catching a flying ball. However, I still want to play Quidditch and since the Keeper spot is open I figured I'd go for it."

"Do you think you'll be a good Keeper?" Ron asked.

"Maybe. I've always had good reflexes and instincts. I'm also a lot stronger then I use to be, so hopefully I'll be able to make those long passes. I guess we won't know until we go to Hogwarts. Did you want to try out for the Keeper position Ron? Because if so, I'll stick with being a Seeker."

"No. I actually want to play Chaser but with Angelina and Alicia only being two years older then us, I still have one more year to go before I can try out for the position," Ron sighed.

"I can ask them to try out backup positions if you want. With four of our members leaving next year, it would probably be best if we had some young reserves to take over their positions anyway. If you're good enough, you can be a reserve, get some practice in with Katie and be a starter next year."

"Thanks, mate. Maybe I can get Fred and George to help me out." Ron glanced at the clock on the wall. "Bloody hell, its pass six. Mum said to be home by six or I'd be in trouble."

Standing up and grabbing his bags, Ron rushed from the room. "I'll see you guys on the train!"

Harry and Hermione stood as well, gathering their bags. Harry tossed some galleons and sickles on the table, covering the bill and leaving a generous tip.

"Do you have any time period for being home?" Harry asked as they entered the main room of the pub.

"My curfew's at ten. As long as I'm home before then my parents won't mind," Hermione explained.

Harry nodded and turned toward the bar. "Money's on the table Tom."

The barman waved in goodbye, filling up a large mug with a frothing liquid Harry had never seen before. Probably some kind of wizarding alcohol.

"I know it will take longer but do you want me to drive you home?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you even know how to drive?"

"Remus taught me a lot. I drove here didn't I?" Harry asked with a pout.

"You do realize I live three hours north from Little Whinging right? Which is way out of your way? Fine then, but only if you drive slow."

* * *

Glancing into the last compartment on the train, Harry saw that it was empty, just like he was hoping. He opened the door, dragging his trunk behind him. This was the compartment he sat in ever since the ride home of his first year. Ron had even carved their names into the wood under the window at the end of third year.

Lifting his trunk up the teen placed the heavy luggage into the storage shelf above the seats. He had sent Hedwig on ahead and had shrunk her cage. Sitting against the window, he lifted his feet and placed them on the seat opposite his. Hermione would probably be arriving soon and Ron would arrive at the last minute because its what the Weasley family did.

He glanced out the window to see that the platform was starting to get crowded. Remus and Sirius, in dog form, had dropped him off an hour early because they needed to go meet with someone called Mundugus Fletcher. With ten Aurors patrolling the station Dumbledore didn't think Harry would be in any danger.

"Harry!"

Harry looked around until he spotted Parvarti Patil waving at him. She was with her sister and two people he assumed were her parents. She turned to her parents and kissed them both on the cheek. They exchanged good-byes before the Gryffindor twin grabbed her trunk and started to haul it toward the train.

Harry leaned out the window. "Do you need help Parvarti?"

"Yes, please."

Harry grinned at her before pulling back from the window and exiting his compartment. He stepped to the entry way that led to the platform and saw Parvarti standing there, waiting for him. With some effort she managed to pick her trunk up high enough for Harry to grab it. Lifting it easily, the black haired teen moved back into the train.

"What compartment you sitting in?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I was hoping in yours. Is that ok with you?"

He blinked at her question. It had always been him, Ron and Hermione in the compartment, no one else. Then again, besides his Quidditch teammates he hadn't been good friends with anyone else. That was until Dean, Seamus and Neville had come to his birthday party and the five Gryffindor fifth year boys had gone to that football match.

"No problem at all," he answered after a moments hesitation.

"You don't sound too sure about that," Parvarti stated.

"Sorry. Its just that its usually just me, Ron and Hermione in there. Not use to sitting with others."

He glanced over his shoulder and could see that the Indian girl was looking at the ground. "It's ok if you don't want me sitting with you guys."

"No. I want you to sit with us. We don't hang out that much and its a shame."

She looked up, giving him a brilliant smiled when she saw he was looking at her. He looked away, a blush rising on his face. Seamus was right when he said she was one of the prettiest witches at Hogwarts.

He hefted her trunk and carried it into his compartment, lifting it up and placing it next to his. He took his seat again, stopping himself from placing his feet on the bench opposite him as she sat down there.

"Hey, listen Parvarti, I never actually apologized for being a horrible date at the Yule Ball. I know its probably too late but I really am sorry." Harry put the most sincere look he possibly could on his face. He really was sorry for being a horrible date though he wasn't sorry he didn't have to dance much.

"It's ok Harry. I was able to dance with the Tri-Wizard champion for several songs, looked great and got a few French floo addresses. All in all I called it a good night."

"You did look great," the green-eyed teen said, agreeing.

"Harry Potter, are you flirting with me?" She batted her eyelashes at him.

"Harry!"

Harry looked up and saw that Hermione was standing in the doorway. He stood up, stepped toward his best friend and engulfed her in a hug. He pulled away and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Need help with your trunk?"

"Could you please? Its so heavy." She stepped away from her trunk, clutching Crookshank's basket in her arms.

"Its going to be when you carry a library in there." The last few words were said in a strained voice as he struggled to lift her heavy trunk, which was probably twice the weight of Parvarti's. He heaved the heavy thing into the open storage shelf and collapsed into his seat. "Can't wait until you can start casting featherweight charms on that."

"Its not that bad," the bushy-haired teen mumbled, embarrassed.

"You must have forty books in there!" Harry cried, flailing his arms.

"Fifty-one," Hermione muttered, sitting down next to Harry. She opened Crookshank's carrier and the cat hopped out. "Hello Parvarti."  
"Hello Hermione, how was your summer?" the dark-skinned girl asked.

"It was good. My parents took me to Japan. Its beautiful there and their magical history is even longer then Egypt!" She placed the cat carrier on the ground as said cat jumped on the seat next to her and laid down.

She obviously wanted to tell the two teens exactly everything that happened in Japanese history. However, an Irish tongue interrupted her speech, the grin evident in his tone.

"I'm sure its all fascinating las but I believe we got more interesting things to talk about!"

"Who invited the leprechaun?" Hermione asked snidely.

"Oooh. Yeh wounded me there Granger, yeh really did." Seamus stepped into the compartment and with some help from Harry, put his trunk above their heads. "So Harry, how'd things go with that muggle las? You take that shot like I told yeh too?"

"I didn't. Neither of us wanted to take it there. Ended it two days ago. I guess you could just call it a summer fling."

The two males sat down, Harry sitting back in the spot by the window and Seamus next to Parvarti. The Irish teen put his arm around the pretty brunette, wagging his eyebrows as he did so. She pushed his arm off her, chuckling as she did so.

"You aren't that charming Seamus."

Before any conversation could start up Lavender stuck her head in the compartment. "There you are Parvarti! I was looking for you forever! Your sister said you were sitting with Harry."

"Hey Lav. I saw Harry looking so lonely by himself," "Hey!" "and realized he needed a friend. So I sat with him. Why don't you join us? We could make it into the fifth year Gryffindor compartments."

"Does that mean your two other dorm mates will be joining us?" Seamus asked with a shudder.

"Seamus!" Parvarti cried out.

"They really are sweet," Hermione added, defending the two Gryffindor girls no one really knew about.

Vicky Frobisher was a bigger nerd then Hermione was and got much lower grades. She was very pale because she rarely went out into the sun. Her black hair was always pulled into a frizzy ponytail and her brown eyes were constantly glued to a book. They had tried to befriend her. Everyone of the fifth year Gryffindors had approached her for conversation but she didn't answer often and when she did it was usually one word.

Jessica MacGregor was the daughter of the head of the MacGregor family and his muggle-born wife, inheriting the blood red hair of the MacGregors. The fact that she was a half-blood didn't stop her from acting like a snobbish pureblood. While she didn't hold the whole blood purity view of the Malfoys and Parkinsons, that didn't mean she wasn't part of their lot. In fact, most, if not all, of her friends were Slytherins. Her blue eyes would always gaze at most everyone in the Gryffindor common room as if they were her inferior.

"No offense Hermione but Vicky is worse then you when it comes to books. I tried conversing with her but all I got was the flipping of pages."

Seamus nodded at Harry's words. "And Jessica is definitely from a Scottish clan cause she don't appreciate an Irish lad. Called me a scruffy looking hooligan."

"You are a little scruffy looking," Lavender teased, taking the seat next to Seamus.

"But its in a devilishly handsome way!" Seamus argued.

"Sorry mate but you're lying to yourself."

"Dean! How yeh doing mate?"

"I'm alright."

Dean moved into the compartment, lifting his trunk as he did so. When he stepped forward he revealed the person who was waiting behind the tall teen.

"Nev!"

"Hey Harry. How was the rest of your summer?"

"Brilliant mate. How was yours?"

"Good."

The two new arrivals put their trunks in the above storage before grabbing some seats. Dean sat next to Lavender and Neville sat across from him, to afraid to try to move Crookshanks, who occupied the seat next to Hermione.

"What time is it?" Parvarti asked.

"Four minutes to eleven," Dean replied, glancing at his watch.

"And right on time..."

Harry nodded his head to the barrier, where Ron and Ginny burst out of. They were quickly followed by Fred and George, who were proceeded by their parents. Goodbyes were quickly exchanged before the four students made it to the train, just in time as it started to pull away.

The twins didn't even stop as they made their way down the train to find their friends. Ginny looked like she wanted to join them but Ron shooed her along, telling her to go sit with her own friends. She did leave, after she traded some insults with Ron.

Finally Ron stepped into the compartment, grinning broadly at them all. He had no trouble lifting his own trunk and storing it in the now full storage area above their heads.

"Oi budge over ya furball," Ron said, trying to move Crookshanks out of the seat.

The cat hissed at him, baring its sharp teeth and swiping out with its paw. Ron pulled his hand back quickly, sucking on his finger where the cat had scratched it.

"Ron! Leave Crookshanks alone."

"Me? I'm not the one bloody scratching it!" Ron cried, holding out his finger for Hermione to see.

Hermione ignored him, cooing over her cat. Ron huffed in annoyance and kicked Crookshank's carrier case, which was sitting in the middle of the floor, into the corridor.

"Oops. Didn't see it there." The redhead didn't even try to sound apologetic as he sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall underneath the window.

Hermione sighed in annoyance, flicking her wand and shrinking the carrier. Everyone blinked at that before remembering that they were officially allowed to do magic now. The minute the Hogwarts Expressed pulled away the school year had started and they were on Hogwarts property (the train and tracks).

"We have a Prefects meeting in ten minutes Dean, we should probably head down there."

Dean stood up with Hermione, the two exiting the compartment. Ron took Hermione's seat, glaring at Crookshanks, who was still laying lazily in his seat.

Harry sighed, leaning back in his eat. "So what do you guys think this year is going to hold for us?"

* * *

Harry stared at the creature with awe. Its glossy black skin was pulled tight over its skeletal looking body. Black bat-like wings protruded from its back and large white eyes started unblinkingly ahead. It looked at Harry as he looked at it. It was both frightening and beautiful looking. Yet he was apparently the only one who could see it because Ron and Hermione were looking at Harry and the space he was staring at, bewildered.

"What are you looking at mate?" Ron asked.

"You don't see them?" Harry asked, indicating the horse-like creature he was staring at.

"I see them," Neville said, stepping up from the back of the group. "Could see them since we first got here and always wondered why everyone said the carriages pulled themselves. I looked them up. They are called thestrals and you can only see them if you've seen someone die."

"Cedric," Harry whispered.

"Come on Harry. The others have already gone ahead. We're the last ones left." Hermione took his arm, leading him into the carriage.

The four Gryffindors climbed into the carriage, closing the door behind them. The carriage took off, going at its regular slow pace. In ten minutes they would be in Hogwarts, the first time in a little over two months.

"If you don't mind me asking Neville, who is it that you've seen die?" Ron asked.

"It was my grandpa, when I was eight. I didn't know he had died at the time, just thought he had gone to sleep. Then gran starting crying hysterically and I realized he wasn't waking up."

Hermione cleared her throat, uncomfortable with the topic. "Well, to change things to a more cheery topic, I feel like that with OWLS coming up we should spend at least an hour a day in the library."

"How is that more cheery?" Ron demanded.

"If you don't improve your grades you won't be coming back for your sixth and seventh years of schooling. Why do you think sixth years always enter the year with three or four less students then they exited fifth year with? Do you want to be like Crabbe and Goyle?"

Ron quieted down at that but Harry looked interested. "What does someone do if they get kicked out of Hogwarts for not getting in enough NEWT classes?"

"They have three choices. They can be home schooled and hope they take enough NEWTs to have finished their education. They can go to a private school, where the standards aren't as high as Hogwarts and take their NEWTs there. Or they can just forget about completing their education all together and get simple job like a store clerk."

"Or the conductor on the Knight Bus," Neville added.

"That makes sense," Harry said, remembering Stan Shunpike.

"Even though you only need four NEWT classes, in most of them you at least need a grade of EE- on your OWLS in order to get into the classes. Potions and Transfiguration require EE+."

Harry noticed that Ron was looking worried now, since he only had two grades that were worthy of NEWTs.

"Buck up Ron. You told me you've been practicing in Charms and Transfiguration. I'm sure you'll do fine in them. Just need to spend some more time practicing, we both do."

Harry gave Ron a reassuring smile, which the redhead returned with an anxious one of his own. Ron wouldn't fail because Hermione would shove the knowledge down his throat. It may not have been her most appealing feature but it might just keep Ron in Hogwarts.

The carriage started to slow before coming to a complete stop. Harry got out first, offering his hand to Hermione. Soon they were all walking up the steps and into the school. No other carriages were in sight which meant they were a minute or two behind everyone else.

They walked into the Great Hall, the last to arrive. The loud talking that had just filled the room stopped when Harry entered, flanked on his right by Ron and his left by Hermione and Neville, the latter who seemed to shrink away from everyone's gaze. Rather that avoid their eyes, some accusing, some supportive and many somewhere in between, Harry met all their gazes with his own confident stare.

Many looked away when his eyes made contact with his, many intensified their glare and some even gave him a sign that they supported him, whether it be a thumbs up or a wink. He strode to his usual seat, in the middle of the table, which was left open for him and his companions. There was some shuffling along the bench, as they hadn't expected Neville to be sitting with the Golden Trio but in the end, all four were able to sit comfortably. Harry and Hermione on one side, Neville and Ron on the other.

Leaning forward. Neville looked around nervously. "I'm not use to everyone staring at me like that."

Ron chuckled softly, patting the chubbier teen on the shoulder. "If you want to be part of Harry's gang you gotta get use to it."

"What? Harry and I hang out all the time! I've never received those looks before," Neville cried out.

"Well, no offense Neville but those times you were just friends with Harry, now you are a confidant. Part of the group we've become, like the popular clique in muggle high school. You long to be a part of it but you resent them for excluding you," Hermione stated.

Neville looked between the three of them, confusion on his face. "That was certainly an egotistical thing to say. Is that how you feel about yourselves?"

"Of course not," Harry answered. "That's how it was described to us a week ago by Katie when we saw her at Diagon. I actually thought we were something of outcast until she told us. After all I know I've never had many close friends outside of Ron and Hermione."

"You could if the three of you didn't shield yourselves away from everyone. Always in the corner by yourselves in the common room or always having whispered conversations during meals. And I don't mean to be rude but your personalities don't help you much either."

Harry nodded at Neville's words, knowing it was all true. The three of them had shied away from other people, especially in second year when most everyone was accusing Harry of being the heir of Slytherin.

"What do you mean our personalities?" Hermione asked.

Neville hesitated, not sure if he wanted to answer. "Well, until recently Harry's always been shy, quiet and...."

"Come on Nev, you've been on the outside of us. You know things about us we might see. You can tell us, I promise we won't get mad. Right guys?" Hermione and Ron nodded their agreement.

"If you're sure. Harry's always been shy, quiet and moody. Ron is judgmental and quick to anger. Hermione is bossy, snooty and likes to force her intelligence down people's throat."

"Why I never..."

"Quick to anger huh?"

Harry held his hand up, silencing his two best friends. "You agreed you wouldn't get angry. No one likes to hear bad things about themselves, especially if its true. Everything Neville said is true. While these traits of our personality may not be as pronounced as they were when we were first years, they are still there."

Hermione huffed and turned her head toward the teacher's table, ignoring Harry and Neville. Ron just looked sulkily at his plate, waiting for food to come so he'd have a legitimate reason for ignoring everyone.

"Hufflepuff!"

Harry blinked, realizing that he hadn't paid attention to the sorting at all. Not even to clap when a new Gryffindor was sorted into the house. Did others think he didn't care that the house of the lion had gotten new members?

Dumbledore didn't even bother to stand to do his normal 'this isn't a time for speeches but eating' stint. Instead he merely clapped his hands and the feast appeared on the table. Ron dug in with a gusto Harry was use to but always impressed with.

As he slowly ate his food green eyes scanned the teacher's table. There was two new faces. One was a tall black wizard with a bald head and a gold earring. The other was a dirty blond wizard who was glaring at Harry almost as bad as Snape was.

"Five galleons says the blond guy is the new Defense professor."

Hermione surveyed the teacher's table, spotting the two new additions. "I know its a fifty-fifty shot but how can you be so sure?"

"Do you see the way he's glaring at me? Lets take a minute to think of a Defense professor who hasn't had an interest in me." Harry paused several seconds. "Yeah, can't think of any."

Hermione stopped herself from replying as Dumbledore stood from his seat. As soon as the Headmaster was on his feet the entire hall fell into silence.

"So another year starts! I'm sure you are all eager to go back to your dorms and get some sleep, since it has been a long day. However, before you go do that I would like to make some announcements.

"The Forbidden Forest is still forbidden, even though some of you like to ignore that. Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that the list of banned items is currently posted on his door and has expanded to five hundred items, if I remember correctly. Quidditch trials will begin next week, speak to your house captains if you have any questions.

"Now, I would like to introduce you to your new Defense instructor, Professor Bedeau!"

The blond haired man who had been glaring at Harry stood from his seat and waved to the students. Several girls gave the man appreciative looks. Harry just rolled his eyes, expecting yet another plot involving the DADA teacher.

"I'm sure many of you know that the Dueling class has been reinstated and is a mandatory class for all fifth, sixth and seventh years. Your instructor in it is Professor Shacklebolt, an Auror on loan from the Ministry."

The tall black man stood up and waved to the students. Harry remembered Sirius saying a Kingsley Shacklebolt was in the Order of the Phoenix. This must be the man Sirius was talking about. The two Marauders spoke highly of the man.

"I hope you treat both of them with the sane respect you treat your other professors." Here Dumbledore shot a look at Fred and George who merely gazed back in innocence. "Now, off you go!"


	4. Classes

Chapter 4 Classes

September first was a Friday, which meant they had two days to relax before classes started. For the upper year Gryffindors this meant a chance to party and celebrate being back at school. The weekend went by in a blur as Harry got a chance to really get to know most of his fellow year-mates in the house of the lion, minus the two anti-social females. Despite going to school with them for four years he had never really had a meaningful conversation with any of the five of them.

With bleary eyes Harry and Ron sat at the breakfast table, groggily shoving forkfuls of egg into their mouths. They had stayed up late, at Seamus' insistence, to rate all the girls in Hogwarts, fourth year and up. Seamus had ended up making their ratings into a list, "for future reference" he had insisted.

"McGonagall is coming around with time tables," Hermione said, noticing the stern-looking professor making her way down to them.

Harry attempted to sit up straighter but couldn't find the energy to. He yawned loudly, stretching his muscles. He had wanted to start running every morning at Hogwarts like he did during the summer, however, since he's been back he hadn't been able to wake up early enough in the morning to go.

"Good morning Professor," Hermione greeted her favorite teacher.

"Miss Granger, I hope you are well this morning," McGonagall greeted in turn.

"Of course Professor. I can't wait to start the year."

McGonagall gave a small smile at that, something that was rare for her. She then turned her eyes to Harry and Ron, both of who looked ready to pass out in their plates. The smile slipped from her face and she frowned in disapproval.

"I see these two aren't near as ready as you are Miss Granger."

"No ma'am," Hermione replied, grinning at the two males.

"Here's their time tables. Mr. Weasley doesn't seem aware that I've been holding his out for him the pass minute, let alone the fact that I'm talking about him. Make sure they get them won't you?"

"Of course Professor," Hermione replied, taking the three time tables.

The head of Gryffindor walked off to hand out more schedules. Hermione elbowed Harry sharply and kicked Ron underneath the table. They both jumped awake with moans of pain.

"Professor McGonagall wanted me to give these to you," Hermione stated, handing the two boys their schedules.

Harry glanced over his.

**'Monday:**

**9:00am-10:00am History**

**10:15am-11:15am Charms**

**11:30pm-12:30pm Charms**

**Lunch**

**1:45pm-2:45pm Break**

**3:00pm-4:00pm Potions**

**4:15pm-5:15pm Potions**

**5:30pm-6:30pm Care of Magical Creatures**

**Tuesday:**

**9:00am-10:00am Defense Against the Dark Arts**

**10:15am-11:15am Defense Against the Dark Arts**

**11:30pm-12:30pm Dueling**

**Lunch**

**1:45pm-2:45pm Care of Magical Creatures**

**3:00pm-4:00pm Herbology**

**4:15pm-5:15pm Transfiguration**

**5:30pm-6:30pm Transfiguration**

**11:30pm-1:00am Astronomy**

**Wednesday:**

**9:00am-10:00am Break**

**10:15am-11:15am Charms**

**11:30pm-12:30pm Charms**

**Lunch**

**1:45pm-2:45pm Divination**

**3:00pm-4:00pm Divination**

**4:15pm-5:15pm Potions**

**5:30pm-6:30pm History**

**Thursday:**

**9:00am-10:00am Transfiguration**

**10:15am-11:15am Transfiguration**

**11:30pm-12:30pm Break**

**Lunch**

**1:45pm-2:45pm Herbology**

**3:00pm-4:00pm Defense Against the Dark Arts**

**4:15pm-5:15pm Defense Against the Dark Arts**

**5:30pm-6:30pm Dueling**

**Friday:**

**9:00am-10:00am History**

**10:15am-11:15am Potions**

**11:30pm-12:30pm Divination**

**Lunch**

**1:45pm-2:45pm Herbology**

**3:00pm-4:00pm Herbology**

**4:15pm-5:15pm Care of Magical Creatures**

**5:30pm-6:30pm Break' **

Harry compared his to Ron's and saw that they had the same exact thing. He then looked at Hermione's. She had Arithmancy when he had Divination and her only break was Wednesday morning, the other three being taken up by Ancient Runes.

"History on Monday mornings will allow us to get some more sleep in."

Harry nodded at that, having noticed it too. "Only one double Potions with Snape, though I don't know if thats a good thing or not."

"Kind of sucks we only have DADA and Charms twice a week. Those are my favorite classes," Ron stated.

Hermione stood up, lifting her bag with her. "You two can discuss schedules on the way to class. We have ten minutes to get to History."

Harry and Ron stood as well, lifting their bags. The first day of classes you weren't expected to know your classes so you didn't have to worry about bringing any text books. Probably the only day you could say that for all your classes.

"Binns wouldn't notice if the entire class arrived late," Ron muttered as they exited the Hall.

Hermione shot him a look and Harry bit his tongue, agreeing with Ron but not wanting to voice his opinion. When they arrived in class it was mostly empty. They shared the class with Ravenclaw but they were similar to the lions in their inability to stay awake during the lecture.

Hermione took a seat right in the front, Ron took the seat behind her and Harry took the seat to his left. The minute he sat down Ron put his bag on his desk and laid his head down on it, using it as a pillow. Hermione had taken out a quill and roll of parchment, ready to take notes. Harry knew he'd probably be joining Ron soon but he at least wanted to see what Binns would be talking about. After all the book they had to buy for the class seemed interesting.

Binns floated through the blackboard as soon as the bell rang, usually the only remotely interesting thing in class. The entire class had arrived with most of them already preparing themselves for a nice nap, or in the case of Ron, already in the midst of that nap.

"Welcome to your OWL year in History, which will also be your last year. Since its the last year you will be learning this subject I thought it best to end with the history that has most affected your lives. In fact, one of the biggest figures in modern history, if not the biggest, is in this very classroom."

Harry looked up and saw that Binns was staring at him. This was the first time the ghost had even acknowledged his presence, let alone know who he was.

"Mr. Potter, you wouldn't happen to have remembered anything from that night, would you?"

The teen blinked at the ghost's questioned. "Er, no. Just a flash of green light and high, cruel laughter." That wasn't the entire truth. Thanks to Dementors he remembered the entirety of that night. From the time his parents knew Voldemort has shown up on their doorstep to the minute the Dark Lord had been destroyed and his house fell down on top of him. Not that he was going to tell his history class that.

"Such a shame. It would have been truly remarkable to hear from one of the two people who survived that night. One of the biggest nights in wizarding history and one had no memory while the other is too terrifying to ask."

Binns turned his gaze from Harry and started to ramble about a giant rampage in London sometime in the late 1800's. That was everyone's cue to go to sleep, since nothing interesting was going to happen during class, like usual. Though, as he lay his head down, Harry realized that Binns believed Voldemort was back.

* * *

Bleary green eyes blinked awake as a finger poked into his leg.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed. "Class ends in a minute. Get up!"

Harry lifted his head and looked at Hermione, who had turned in her seat to wake the two of them. It was the usual routine, probably the reason why he and Ron were doing terrible in the class.

"I'm up, keep your finger to yourself," Harry muttered, massaging his neck to try to get out a crick.

The bell rang and everyone quickly got up and left the classroom, eager to get out of the boring class. Harry and Ron had to move at a slower pace, since Hermione was never one to shoot out the door as soon as the bell rang. When she had finally placed her notes neatly into her bag, the trio moved out of the classroom.

"Isn't it faster to get to Charms that way?" Hermione indicated the opposite direction they were heading.

"Yeah if you walk the corridors but the secret passageway that leads right to the Charms corridor is down this way," Ron jerked his thumb to the direction they were walking.

Harry nodded his head in agreement. He and Ron had memorized almost every secret passageway in Hogwarts in their third year. "Its a winding staircase that goes straight up to the fourth floor (A/N- third floor if you consider it ground floor, first floor and second floor before it, which as an American, I don't) and ends around the corner from the Charms classroom. Cuts about two minutes off the walk."

"I hope Binns doesn't ask me about that night again. Its not something I like to remember, or even want to share," Harry muttered, pushing open a door that looked like part of the wall.

Hermione made an agreeing noise. "I can't believe he would just ask you like that!"

"Being a ghost obviously killed his tact!" Hermione and Harry looked at Ron with raised eyebrows, causing the redhead to get defensive. "I thought it was funny."

"It really wasn't."

"I'm going with Hermione on this one. That was terrible."

The redhead sulked as they exited the secret passageway and came out in the Charms corridor. They were the first ones to arrive at the class, even though they were the last ones to leave History. Charms was another class they shared with the Ravenclaws.

"Hello Professor!" Harry greeted as they walked in the classroom.

"Mr. Potter! Always a pleasure to see you. How was your summer?"

"Good professor, though I can't wait to start class. I've really studied a lot this summer. I think I can bring my grade up into the O range."

The tiny professor seemed delighted at such news. "That's wonderful Mr. Potter! You know your mother was one of the greatest Charms students I've ever had the pleasure of teaching. If she wasn't so into Potions and spent more time in Charms, she may have been the best."

"My mother was good at potions?" He had never heard that before. Sure he had heard about his father in Transfiguration and Quidditch but no one had really talked about his mother.

"Of course. She was the best Hogwarts has seen in ages. Professor Slughorn, the old Potions' teacher, would rave about her all the time. Better then Professor Snape even, who I'm sure you know was in the same grade as her. She had actually gotten her masters in potions a few months after you were born, one of the youngest to ever get it. Probably would have gotten it sooner if she wasn't pregnant with you."

Harry soaked the information in, never knowing much about his parents, especially his mom. "Thank you Professor. Its nice to hear about them."

"No problem," Flitwick said, turning to the rest of the class that had gathered while he and Harry talked, as Harry took his seat. "Welcome to your fifth year in Charms! This is your OWL year which means I expect you all to work extra hard. Like every other class the average grade should rise at least four points from what it previously was at the end of last year to what it will be on your OWL. If you want to continue to NEWT-level Charms than you must get a t least an EE- on your OWL grade, anything lower will not be accepted. I usually have a 92% EE- or higher passing rate and I'd like to keep it that way."

Professor Flitwick, standing on top of his stack of books to be at their eye level, looked at them all with a hard look in his eyes. Hogwarts hadn't been known for its Charms class until the tiny professor had taken over the subject. Ever since Flitwick's third year teaching, 1963, OWL levels from around Europe usually had Hogwarts ranking in the Top 2 in Charms, always behind Beauxbatons, out of the fifty schools in Europe.

"To start the year we'll be learning charms that affect your senses; whether its to dampen them or heighten them. If you've ever used Omnioculars, one of the spells on them is a vision enhancing enchantment, which allows them to see a great distance. The earmuffs you use in Herbology have hearing dampening enchantments placed on them, to muffle the sounds you hear around you.

"Of course it isn't just enchantments. There are also charms one can place on themselves or someone else that will have the same effects. These can be quite useful in duels or if you ever find yourself in a fight against a magical creature like a vampire, who can be so quiet you don't know its there until its behind you."

* * *

The door slammed open, making only Neville jump in surprise. Every first day of class Snape did this. He probably did it to try to instill fear within the students, to let them know he's one scary dude. Honestly, it was a little pathetic in Harry's opinion.

"Most of you won't be making it into NEWT level potions," Snape gave Harry a pointed look, a sneer on his face. "Potions is extremely dangerous. Next year we will be working on some extremely sensitive potions that, if mixed wrongly, could possibly kill you and everyone in the room. Luckily, the OWLs will whittle the class down to the students who actually deserve to learn such a delicate art."

Malfoy smirked at everyone in the room, ranking number two in the class. Harry was sure though, that it irked the pureblood being second in the rankings to Justin, a muggle-born Hufflepuff.

"Today we'll start with the Strengthening Draught, one of the easier potions on the OWLs. If you can't do this one then there is no hope for you. Open to page thirteen in your books and begin."

The students all opened their books, shuffling around as they started to pull out the ingredients needed. Soon the sound of bubbling water and ingredients being chopped to correct size filled the classroom.

Twenty minutes later and Harry was pretty sure he was doing pretty good. He glanced around and saw that his potion was a shade lighter then Malfoy's and Hermione's. Which, while not perfect, was still pretty damn good.

"Potter what is this?"

The Boy-Who-Lived looked up to see Snape standing behind him, glaring into his cauldron.

"Correct me if I'm wrong sir but I do believe thats my potion."

Snape snarled at Harry's remark. "Five points for your cheek! This potion is terrible, did you even read the instructions?"

Rolling his eyes, Harry prepared himself to try to save his potion. Maybe if he was quick enough he could block Snape's vanishing potion.

"Yeah. And judging from the quality of it compared to most others in the class, I'd say its rather good."

"You aren't the potions expert here, I am!" Snape snarled down at him.

"That is true sir, you do have so much more experience in this subject then I do. Too bad my mother isn't alive, since she was such a better Potions Master then you, I'm sure she could have made me good at this subject."

Harry smirked at his veiled insult, watching as Snape's jaw clenched even tighter then usual. It was rather easy to tick Snape off. If he did it subtle enough, he could even get away without a detention or house points being taken off.

"Yes, such a shame she got herself killed," Snape said, turning on his heel and stalking off from Harry.

'And the point goes to Potter,' Harry thought.

* * *

"I'm going to hate Defense this year," Harry muttered as they walked toward the classroom.

"It hasn't even started yet. How can you be so sure?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked at her as is she was barmy. "Didn't you see the way the new professor was glaring at me during the welcoming feast? It's like I killed his dog or something!"

"It can't be that bad," Hermione tried placating.

"Every year the DADA professor has had a fixation on me. Quirrel because Voldemort was sticking out the back of his head. Lockhart because he was an egotistical fraud trying to get more fame off of mine. Remus because he was one of my father's best friend and after avoiding me my entire life decided he wanted to get to know me. And last year, Moody because he was really Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise and he wanted to deliver me to Voldemort." Harry ticked them all off his finger as he went. "Now this French guy who was glaring at me throughout dinner."

"Maybe he won't be too bad."

The green-eyed teen didn't answer as they entered the classroom door. They were the last ones to arrive and saw that there were no three seats open. There was a seat in the front, near the teachers desk, a seat in the row behind that, at the end of the row and next to Neville, with the last seat being in the back row between Seamus and Blaise Zabini. Hermione had already started off toward the front row seat. Looking at Ron, Harry quickly moved off to the seat next to Neville. With a shrug, Ron moved to take the last seat.

"Welcome to your first defense class of the year."

Professor Bedeau stepped out of his office, walking down the steps and into the classroom. The man stood in front of the class, his eyes scanning all their faces. They finally settled on Harry and the teen could see the hatred in the professor's eyes.

"This year I'll teach you several dozen new spells that will be useful if you ever find yourself in danger from another wizard. I will also teach you how best to fight several dark creatures, including trolls and vampires. Today, I'm going to give you a demonstration of some of the curses you will be learning about this year. Mr. Potter if you could please step up to the front."

Harry slowly got out of his seat and walked to the front of the room. As he passed Hermione he gave her an 'I told you so' look. She shot him back a sympathetic one in return. Standing in front of the class, Harry turned toward the teacher, ready to draw his wand if need be.

"I've heard a lot about you Mr. Potter. Many have. Your victory in the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year was...surprising. Many are hailing you as the next Albus Dumbledore or even the next Merlin!" Bedeau laughed at the last part, as if the idea of Harry being the next Merlin was preposterous.

"I don't think you should judge people based on what you hear about them, only on what you from see," Harry stated, sounding similar to the Headmaster.

"I'm going to practice some curses on you, to show the class what they are up against. Lets get started shall we. _Terebro_!"

Harry ducked underneath the spell, not knowing what it was but refusing to be hit by it. The professor looked at him with contempt.

"You aren't suppose to dodge the spell Potter," the man all but snarled. "How are people suppose to know what the spell does otherwise?"

"No offense professor but I'd rather not get hit by a spell I don't know."

"Afraid Mr. Potter? Not as tough as some make you out to be? I wonder if there is anything else about you people are lying about. If you want to dodge spells then we'll duel."

Harry wanted to protest but before he could a spell was launched at him. He flicked his wrist, drawing his wand into his hand, side-stepped the spell and blocked another with a simple shield.

"_Stupefy_!"

His spell was battered away as the professor launched another curse, his mouth not even making a sound. Harry had seen Sirius and Remus do that in their prank duels. Silent casting was something he would be learning next year, unless he practiced on his own time this year. Either way he was at a disadvantage.

Twirling around the spell, Harry launched a powerful bludgeoner. His attack was side-stepped, where it punched a hole into the stone wall. Bedeau returned fire with a barrage of orange beams of light, forcing Harry to roll out of the way. Coming out of his roll Harry launched a powerful _Reducter._ The professor went to shield himself but the spell wasn't aimed at him, it was aimed at the ground. The stone exploded, sending a cloud of dust through the air as stone fragments shot in all directions. Screams came from the students as they shielded themselves from the stone projectiles.

The teen moved to his right and launched a series of stunners before shifting back to his left. The professor returned fire, aiming at the spot Harry's spells originated from. Harry banished the dust in front of him toward the professor and then launched a trio of Stinging Hexes.

The hexes didn't appear to hit anything and soon the cloud of dust was banished entirely from the room. The professor hadn't been hit by anything and Harry was a little nervous. He had never dueled before, unless you counted that farce of a duel against Voldemort.

Dodging one curse, Harry stepped right into the path of another. It was a bludgeoner that slammed into his ribs, causing Harry to spin in the air before falling to the ground. Gasping in pain, Harry rolled in his spot and launched a Piercing Hex at the professor.

It caught the man unaware, since he thought he had won the duel, catching him in the shoulder and opening up a hole the size of a snitch in his shoulder. Angrily, the man launched a spell at Harry, who blocked it with a hastily raised shield. The man launched spell after spell at Harry, giving the teen no chance to get off the ground. Eventually Harry couldn't shield himself from everything and a cutter caught him in the cheek, opening up a large gash. Next thing Harry knew he was unable to move, his entire body below his neck was numb and he wondered if he had been paralyzed.

"Looks like the great Boy-Who-Lived isn't as great as everyone seems to think he is," Bedeau sneered, healing the wound on his shoulder.

"Congratulations professor. You managed to beat up on a fifteen year old. Must be a proud day for you," Harry snarled out between gasp of breath.

The smirk was wiped of the French man's face. The professor looked at all of the students faces, most of which showed shock at what they had just witnessed. This was the first time all of them have seen a teacher attack a student (except Ron and Hermione). This was also the first time any of them had seen an actual duel.

"Get to your seat Potter." The man waved his wand and suddenly Harry could feel his body again.

Harry gingerly picked himself off the floor, wincing as his ribs throbbed in pain. He felt like hell, and judging from the looks his fellow Gryffindors were giving him he probably looked like it as well. Wiping away the blood that stained his cheek he made for his seat.

"Professor, don't you think he should..." Hermione started to ask, as Harry hobbled pass her.

"Leave it," Harry whispered as he went by her, interrupting her question.

His breath caught in his throat as he lowered himself into his seat. It felt like someone had stabbed him with a knife from his inside. That probably meant a broken bone or something else jabbing into him. Glancing at the clock showed they still had sixty-five minutes left of class. He could make it, at least he was pretty sure he could. Then again he could just pass out in his seat from the pain.

"Some say that Voldemort has returned, that the war is going to start again. The Ministry is denying these reports. I won't try to force my view on you. All I can say is keep an open-mind, think for yourself and don't let yourself be guided like sheep."

He looked most of them in the eyes as he spoke, skipping over Harry.

"If Voldemort really is back then you guys have a hell of a time ahead of you. Some of you will be receiving recruitment letters before your time in Hogwarts is up. Some of you have probably already been recruited. Attacks on muggles will rise by the hundreds. People will start being killed, attacked in their homes while they sleep. Important people in the fight against the Dark Lord will start to be assassinated, whether at their homes, office or just walking the street. Death Eaters are rarely brave enough to fight their opponents face to face.

"Pitched battles will take place between Aurors and Death Eaters. Dark creatures like Dementors, giants and vampires will pour into the country. You-Know-Who will whisper false promises of equality, freedom and power into their ears, drawing them like flies to honey. He will use them to bolster his forces and to spread fear.

"Many will join him because they believe in his cause. Many will join him out of fear for their lives and that of their family. Many will run and hide, their tail between their legs. Some will find the courage to stand up to him. To not run under his gaze but to pick up their wands and fight with every fiber of their beings. I look at this class and I wonder which of you will choose which path. I just ask you to choose wisely.

"When Grindewald came to power, the United Kingdom wasn't affected like the continent was. There was still a faction of his followers here though. See Grindewald had believed that the governments in the world had come corrupt after years of rule and needed to be cleansed. His target was the members of the various Ministries, no matter if you were a lowly clerk or the head of department, you were all fair game. A lot of the public here wanted to turn a blind eye to what Grindewald was doing, even though a member of our Ministry would disappear occasionally. The continent was in chaos as their governments were to scared to step out of their houses. It wasn't until the death of Katherine Dumbledore, the wife of your headmaster and a Ministry official the entire country adored, did people finally decide enough was enough. Not even a year later and Dumbledore had defeated Grindewald and scattered his forces.

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on the other hand just wanted everyone who opposed him dead. He used the whole pureblood propaganda to draw the purebloods to his side. However, he has killed off more pureblood families then the Grindewald war, every goblin rebellion in United Kingdom history and the witch burnings in the Middle Ages combined. So its obvious he doesn't believe in any of that. With You-Know-Who know one is safe, no matter your blood. Not even his own supporters are guaranteed their lives because if they mess up big time they'll be killed to prove a point to the rest."

By the end of class Harry had to admit the man was a decent teacher, despite the whole kicking the crap out of him part. When the bell rang and they were dismissed, Harry had trouble getting out of his seat. Neville had to help him get out of the seat because it hurt to much for him to lean in any direction.

He hobbled out into the hallway followed by Ron, Hermione and Neville. As they started to make their way down the corridor and to the Hospital Wing, a voice shouted out behind him.

"Oh is Potty hurt? What's a matter scarhead aren't as good as your adoring public makes you out to be?"

The four Gryffindors turned around to see Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson and Nott all standing their. The Slytherins all had their wands drawn, causing Ron and Neville to quickly draw theirs.

"Shut up Malfoy. Harry almost out-dueled our defense teacher. You couldn't duel your way out of a money bag. You're pathetic." It wasn't Ron who had said it but Neville, which surprised everyone.

"Who asked you squib? Trying to hang on the coattails of scarhead, poorboy and the mudblood to hide your own failings in magic?" Malfoy sneered.

Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly like they always did. Ron went to attack at the word mudblood but Hermione put her hand out to stop him.

"Listen Malfoy," Harry started, struggling to speak, "the truth of the matter is you aren't important. I have bigger things to worry about then your petty attempts to prove your better me. Come back when you can actually back up your speech because until then you just aren't worth my time or my energy."

Harry turned his back on the group of Slytherins, limping off. His friends followed him, warily keeping their eyes on the Slytherins in case they tried anything.

"Don't turn your back on me Potter!" Malfoy's angry shout followed him down the hallway. "You coward! Come back here! Face me like a man!"

Harry ignored it all, continuing on his way. They walked in silence, mostly because Ron and Neville were in awe that without even throwing an actual insult Harry had infuriated Malfoy beyond anything they'd ever seen.

"Malfoy has always been more bark then bite. He uses Crabbe and Goyle to bully the other students. Harry hit Malfoy where it hurts the most, by telling and proving to him that despite what he says or who is father is, Draco Malfoy is nothing but an annoyance at best," Hermione explained to Ron and Neville.

Harry hummed his agreement as they walked into the hospital wing. It was just as he remembered it. Way too white to be healthy.

"Mr. Potter, I wasn't expecting to see you yet. Merlin! What happened to you?"

"The new defense professor decided to use Harry as a test dummy," Ron muttered darkly.

"What? Did you consent to that Mr. Potter?"

Before Harry could answer, Neville was already telling the matron everything. "He didn't get to say anything! The professor shot a spell at him to show its affects but Harry dodged it. Said he didn't want to get hit by a spell he didn't know the affects of. The professor got real angry, told Harry they were going to duel and just started hurling hexes at him!"

"That's against school rules! No professor is allowed to cast a spell or give a potion to a student without the students consent. Unless its an emergency and the student is not in the right state to give their consent. Up on a bed Mr. Potter lets get a look at you."

* * *

Harry walked into the dueling classroom fifteen minutes late. He had been insistent that he not miss his first day of classes, so after healing his gash, mending his ribs and giving him a pain potion, Madam Pomfrey had allowed him to leave. The classroom was located on the fifth floor, in the west wing. The professor, a tall black man with a bald head, regarding him with cool eyes.

"I was just telling the rest of the class that the first half of the year we'll be learning the rules for traditional dueling, like you follow in the dueling circuit and tournaments. The second half of the year you'll be learning about duels that don't follow the rules. Or as I like to call them firefights."

Harry nodded, finding that Ron had saved him a seat next to him. It was just Gryffindors in the class, which was odd because they usually shared with one of the other houses. The classroom was three times larger then the Defense classroom. It consisted of a small section of desk and a chalkboard and then half a dozen small dueling platforms. He took his seat, taking out the two books required for the class.

"First I feel it only right that I mention the following. From December 5th to December 23rd the European Dueling Championship will be held. As all of you are fifteen years old you are eligible to enter in the junior's division, which ranges from age fifteen to twenty-one. Registration ends on Halloween night. Enter at your own risk. Fifteen year olds rarely win the competition, same thing with sixteen year olds. If you do enter you can come to me to help you train."

None of the Gryffindors looked interested in joining, though they all shot Harry looks. As the Tri-Wizard champion and most powerful in their grade he would be the only one with a shot of winning it, at least in their opinions.

"Now, let's continue with the lesson. What's the biggest difference between a duel in a tournament and a duel outside a tournament? Besides the rules that is."

Dean and Hermione raised their hands.

"Mr. Thomas."

"You know that in a traditional duel there are contracts and oaths that prevent anything truly bad from happening to you. Outside of traditional duels you can die, you can die and there isn't anything that can stop that from happening."

Kingsley nodded at Dean's words. "Good, five points to Gryffindor. As an Auror I know more about firefights then I do duels, though I use to be a young dueler during my final years at Hogwarts. While you may think the duels you take part in are intense and really get your heart racing, there is nothing and I mean nothing like the feeling that overcomes you when you know that one wrong move and your dead. Its the scariest feeling in the world and for some people, those true adrenaline junkies, its the most exhilarating."

The dark man looked at them all with an almost haunted gaze. "Firefights rarely end well. Someone always gets injured and I've known many friends and comrades who haven't made it out of one alive. Hopefully, if I'm as good of a teacher as I hope, I can prevent you from being just another casualty."

* * *

"Rankings from the end of last year have this year's grades ranked third in the art of Transfiguration," McGonagall started, as soon as they sat down. "This is unacceptable! Ever since Professor Dumbledore took over the position in 1913 Hogwarts has always been ranked number one in the subject. By the time the OWLs come around I expect everyone in here to have improve dramatically. Otherwise, you'll be the first class of Hogwarts in over eighty years to not rank number one in Transfiguration on their OWLs."

Hermione it seemed had taken such a thing as a personal affront. She was glaring at everyone in the class, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors alike. She saw that Harry was looking at her and turned to glare at him as well.

"Don't look at me! I got a 90 in this class!" he mouthed to her, his hands up in surrender.

She turned her glare to Ron, who had only gotten in the mid 70's. The redhead tried to meet her glare but turned away, his face burning with embarrassment and anger.

"Today you'll be reviewing what you learned last year. Once I'm sure you know all of it well enough, we'll start on the new material. On the board you will see exactly what I want you to do."

With a wave of her wand Professor McGonagall floated a small box to each student's desk. Looking inside the box Harry could see a white rat looking up at him. He glanced at the board, saw what he had to do and got to work.

By the end of the lesson Harry was one of a few students who were able to do everything properly so far. McGonagall had complimented on his improved skills. Yet there was still one more transfiguration to make.

Harry looked at the bird staring at him. It has once been a rat but that was several spells ago. Now it was a toucan but that was about to change as well. He walked with the toucan to the front of the room, where several others had already been. The last piece of magic they were to perform in front of the whole class. So far Wayne Hopkins and Hermione had been the only two to get this piece of magic done the first time around.

Placing the toucan on the floor, he closed his eyes and imagined what the toucan was going to look like after his spell. With a deep breath he waved his wand. He could feel the air in front of him shift and opening his eyes, he found himself staring at a perfect replica of the chair Dumbledore sat at during meal times.

"Well done Mr. Potter! That is the most elaborate chair I've seen so far. I can tell you've been studying the subject over the summer." Professor McGonagall beamed at Harry, as she walked around the chair and thoroughly examined it. She even sat down in it, and finding everything satisfactory turned toward Harry.

"Mr. Potter your father was the greatest student I have ever had the pleasure of teaching. By the time he graduated here he was already up to the level of most masters in the subject. It was one of the proudest days of my teaching career when he got a mastery in Transfiguration only six months after graduation, fastest in history. If he was alive right now I have no doubt that he would be far better at it then I am and even as good as the Headmaster.

"You have his practical skill down pat. It seems to come as effortlessly to you as it did to him. If you would only spend more time focusing on the theory part I have no doubt you could be his equal."

Harry blushed at her praise, shuffling his feet. "Thank you."

He sat back down in his seat and saw Hermione was giving him a weird look.

"What?"

"McGonagall just said your the best Transfiguration student," Hermione whispered, as if offended.

"No she didn't! My ranking can prove that," Harry muttered, defensively.

"She said your as good in the practical aspect as your dad, and your father could rival Professor Dumbledore if he was still alive. He got a Masters at the age of eighteen for Merlin's sake! Thats all but impossible. All she said was if you'd just study the theory more you could be as good as your father was in the entire subject. James Potter was a Transfiguration prodigy!"


	5. Best Dueler of Hogwarts

Constructive criticism always welcomed and is in fact encouraged. And sorry if the formatting is a little off. For some reason when I upload a chapter they don't indent the first lines of the paragraphs like I have in the chapter's document.

Chapter 5 Best Dueler of Hogwarts

"Remus?"

"Hello Harry."

The fifteen-year old teen walked over to his surrogate uncle in confusion. He nodded to Hermione and Ron, silently telling them to go to lunch without him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to have a talk with Professor Bedeau," Remus replied, his mouth twisting into a frown.

A wave of dread came over the teen, wondering if such a thing would make things worse. "You don't have to."

"Julian can't be like Snape and only see your father when he looks at you."

"Wait, what?" Harry looked at Remus in confusion. That wasn't what he was expecting.

"Snape wasn't your father's rival. He didn't have the grades, athletic ability or way with the ladies to compete with your father in anything. Severus Snape and James Potter were school nemesis who fought each other whenever they could. Julian Bedeau on the other hand was your father's rival.

"James was third in our year in grades, Julian was fourth. James was Gryffindor's star chaser while Julian was Ravenclaw's spectacular keeper. Julian dated your mom in their sixth year until she broke up with him to go out with your father. It must have seemed to Bedeau that no matter what he did, James Potter did it just a little bit better."

The graying werewolf scratched at the stubble on his chin. "Then came the day, a year after we graduated, where everything came to head. Your father was still in Auror training but due to the lack of proper wizards and witches, was allowed to act as a fully qualified Auror. It was discovered that Bedeau's father was a Death Eater. James went to arrest him and Julian tried to assist his father in escaping. James captured them both and Bedeau's father was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. Your father talked Bedeau's charges down and he was only sent to jail for six months, instead of the five years they originally wanted. Before Julian was released from prison his mother died and upon hearing of his wife's death, Julian's father basically committed suicide by urging a Dementor to kiss him, which it did."

Harry looked at Remus with wide eyes. Although he couldn't blame his father for any of the things he did, unintentionally he was sure, to Bedeau, he could certainly understand why the man would hold a grudge against James Potter. Why was it that so many people seemed to hate Harry because the actions of his father?

"When he was released Julian fled to France, where his family is originally from. James tried to write to him on several occasions, but the letters always returned unopened. Its obvious Julian still harbors a hatred for your father and he took it out on you. You should consider yourself lucky its only me here. Sirius almost came storming over himself, threatening to give the Ministry a real reason to toss him into Azkaban."

The teen shook his head at the antics of his godfather. Sometimes Sirius was too hot-headed for his own good.

"I'm glad you were able to talk him out of it."

"It took some time but if you know Sirius as well as I do, you know how to win arguments against him, or what to bribe him with so he does what you want regardless."

Harry looked around, making sure no one was around. When he saw that the entrance hall was empty he dropped his voice to a whisper.

"How are things going with the Order?"

Remus frowned at the question, clearly unhappy with it. "Not too good really. The rest of the old members we've contacted have declined their new invitations. We haven't managed to recruit anyone new into it either. We're severely short-handed."

"If you need new members I'm always willing," Harry reminded.

"I know you are but not yet."

They both spotted Professor Bedeau coming down the staircase. The man stopped upon seeing Harry and Remus standing there, his eyes widening slightly.

"Go enjoy your lunch Harry," Remus stated, not taking his eyes of the man in font of him."I'm going to have a talk with Julian."

* * *

Several groups stood in front of the Gryffindor Quidditch team; one group for potential Keepers, one for potential Seekers, one for potential Chasers and one for potential Beaters.

"Alright, this year as everyone here knows, we have an open position for Keeper. Yet, on the tryout posters we listed Seeker, Chaser and Beater as positions one could try out for as well. Harry is getting a little too big for the Seeker position and wants to try to switch to Keeper. So, if Harry is the best Keeper to tryout we are going to see if we have anyone good enough to take over his seeking duties. If not, Harry will remain the Seeker and the runner up will have the Keeper position.

"As for the Chasing and Beating position, Alicia, Fred, George and I will be graduating at the end of this year, meaning we will be needing backups. It has been decided on, that if you guys want to have a good team next year, then next years Chasers and Beaters will need to have communication and trust developed between them. So we will have two Chaser reserves and two Beater reserves, who will practice with us and take over the positions next year."

An exciting murmur went up throughout most of the group at Angelina's speech. Some of those trying out for Keeper slinked away, thinking they had no chance against Harry. A few walked over to the Seeker group but most dragged their feet back up to the castle.

"Since what happens with the Keeper position decides if we'll need to tryout Seekers, lets do that one first." Angelina waited for the other hopefuls to walk off the pitch. That left her with the four still trying out for Keeper, including Harry. "There will be four tests. The first will be stopping shots from a stationary Chaser. Then you will stop shots from a moving Chaser. Third is you will stop shots from two Chasers, who will be passing it back and forth to each other in order to confuse you. The final test will be you launching passes to your Chasers, who will be at various distances from you so we can judge your arm strength and accuracy. I want to get a good measure of your reaction time, instincts, reflexes, range and acrobatic ability. You're up first Potter."

Harry mounted his broom and took off into the air. He hovered in front of the three goals as Alicia took to the air with a Quaffle. He knew out of the three Alicia had the hardest shot and Angelina had the most accurate shot. Kate was the better broom handler, better able to weave throughout bludgers and opposing players.

Alicia started with the stationary shots, getting balls tossed to her from one of the twins before she launched them at the hoops. Harry was able to save all twelve shots, relying on his instincts, reflexes and quickness to get in front of each shot. Next up was Alicia as a moving shooter.

He kept his eyes on Alicia, keeping in mind the goal line, which marked the area he couldn't leave. She weaved around in front of him, and he followed her movements with his eyes. As she got closer he started to shift along with her, hovering to his left and right in unison with her movements. Suddenly, she took off like a bullet, moving in at an angle toward the left hoop. Harry started to follow her, moving between the middle and left hoop, when Alicia cocked back her arm and let the quaffle rocket toward the right goal. Harry spun quickly to his right, his Firebolt jolting forward. He all but dove off his broom, using his knees to keep him from tumbling forward, as his long fingers barely snagged the quaffle from the air.

He stopped thirteen of the fifteen shots from Alicia and twelve of the fifteen shots from the duo of Alicia and Katie. He had the strength to heave a pass almost to the other end of the pitch but but his accuracy beyond 38 meters, roughly a third of the pitch, was spotty at best.

Although one of the other kids trying out had just as strong of an arm as Harry did, along with perfect accuracy, no one was able to save as many as he did. Luckily, when the Seekers tried out, Natalia MacDonald had shown great speed, agility, instincts and reflexes. She was good enough that Harry could make the switch.

Ron made it as a reserve Chaser, along with Dennis Creevey, who, although fast and an accurate shot, had a weak arm. Jimmy Peakes, a ferocious, broad-chested second year and Ritchie Coote, a weedy-looking third year with great aim, were the two reserve Beaters.

* * *

"Professor Shacklebolt!"

The dark-skinned man turned around and looked at his student.

"Mr. Potter, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I want to enter into the dueling tournament coming up," Harry explained.

A smile broke out on the professor's face at the news. He had been hoping Potter would want to join the tournament. It would give him time to improve the teen's already impressive dueling skills and it would give him the chance to see if Dumbledore was right about the teen, or whether it was just wishful thinking on the Headmaster's part. The Boy-Who-Lived was considered the best duelist in Hogwarts, something many debated throughout the school, but did he have the skill and power to take on more experienced duelist?

"That's great. Dumbledore thinks very highly of you. If he's right, you should be able to get into the finals."

Harry stood a little straighter at the mention of Dumbledore's praise. "I hope so. I was hoping you could help me improve my skills. I've been practicing and I already noticed that I tend to shoot most of my spells at chest level. Remus Lupin told me that if I alter where I aim I become more unpredictable and it makes it harder for my opponents to block and dodge my attacks."

Kingsley nodded his head. "Remus is correct. If I was to just shoot some spells at your chest you could duck them. If I was to aim one at your chest and one at your knees, you'd have to dodge to the side or shield. As you shoot your spells at different parts of their body, or even in areas the target can dodge to, you limit their options in what they can do. The less options for defense, the harder it becomes to defend oneself."

"It seems like common sense," Harry said, scratching the back of his head.

"You would think so but you'd be surprised how many people always aim at the same spot. Now, I've got the form you have to fill out in my office. Why don't you come with me and we'll fill it out."

"Sure."

They walked in silence for a few seconds before Harry thought of something. "Am I going to need the signature of a parent or guardian?"

"Of course, you're still a minor. Is that going to be a problem?"

The teen sighed, wishing things didn't always have to be so complicated. "Well my muggle guardians hate everything to do with magic, including me. My magical guardian is on the run from the law, unless of course they'd accept Sirius's signature."

"Sirius Black?"

"Please professor, don't play dumb. I know about you and the Order."

Kingsley chuckled, smiling down at the teen. "I knew Sirius wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut when it came to you." The Defense teacher rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think there are any laws about convicted guardians not counting. Laws made by magical people are flawed in so many ways, especially those from so long ago. It should work, even if they will ask you how you got his signature."

"I'll just say I owled it to him and he was nice enough to sign it," Harry answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"They'll have a hard time believing that."

"I'll also say he included a death threat along with his signature."

* * *

"Mr. Potter can you stay after class please?"

Harry stopped packing his stuff and looked at Professor Bedeau. The man was giving him a hard look, one that made the green-eyed wizard nervous.

"Do you want us to wait for you?" Ron asked, eying the professor suspiciously.

"No I should be fine. If I'm not in the next class in twenty minutes assume the worse." Harry stated solemnly.

"I will. I'll also be taking your Firebolt." Ron replied.

Harry sniffed. "Impossible. I left it to Hermione in my will. I left you all my text books."

Ron snorted in amusement. Hermione looked between the two of them in annoyance. Apparently a lot of strange deaths had been occurring in the muggle world and Hermione's parents were worried. That made Hermione worry and she didn't like the two teens joking around like that because if strange muggle deaths were happening then that meant Death Eaters were active.

The redhead and brunette slowly walked out of the classroom, glancing between Harry and the professor as they left. Harry pulled his bag onto his shoulder and approached the front desk. He slid his hand into his pocket, gripping his wand in his hand.

"I'd like to apologize for the other day. I told myself when I took this job that I wouldn't let myself be affected by you. Yet when I saw you, you looked just like him. Just like the man who made my life hell."

Harry frowned at the mention of his father. It was weird, after five years of being in the magical world he had only ever heard Snape speak ill of his father. Meeting someone else who didn't think James Potter was a saint, it made his stomach fill with butterflies.

"Don't get me wrong. Your father was a great man. Yet, everything he did was just better then what I did. And that day, he was just doing his job but that day destroyed my family and left me with nothing. I don't know what I would have done if I had managed to help my dad escape, considering I'm against everything You-Know-Who stands for but he was my father and I felt I had to do something to help him."

The teen felt he should say something. "You don't need to explain sir. I'm used to being judged by the actions of my parents, especially my father."

Bedeau shook his head, looking at Harry with guarded eyes. "I know and its wrong. I shouldn't have done what I did and no one else should judge you the way they do. People don't even know you and they think they know your character because of who you are and who your parents are. Its wrong and I'm sorry I did such a thing."

"Professor, you are only human. Everyone makes mistakes they regret later in life, whether its minutes later or years later. There are so many things I wish I could go back and change but I can't. All I can do is learn from my mishaps and hope I learn from them. You regret what you did the other day in class but I forgive you, because there's no point resenting someone who seeks forgiveness. All you do is hold the person, and yourself, back from moving forward in life."

Harry ducked his head in embarrassment as the defense professor stared at him in astonishment. "You sounded so much like Dumbledore right there." The French man shook his head to clear his thoughts. "That was a great speech Mr. Potter. It makes me more ashamed of my actions. I thank you for forgiving me. I came here with the hope of teaching the children of the United Kingdom on how to defend themselves. I'd like to work with you and I hope you can work with others."

"Wok with others? How?" Harry asked.

"Tutoring," the professor started. "I have notes from the previous two professors about your skill in this subject. Lupin was heavy in his praise of you and Moody, though fake he may have been, has written much approval of your skills."

"Barty Crouch Jr. spoke highly of me?"

The professor eyed the teen carefully. "Yes. He showered you with almost as much praise as Lupin. He was extremely impressed with your ability to block the Imperius and your ability to learn curses and hexes so quickly. It was my belief after reading the notes, that he was trying to convince You-Know-Who you'd be a good recruit. Dumbledore agreed with my theory, especially after you escaped from the Dark Lord in the graveyard. It has become extremely likely that You-Know-Who will try to recruit you sometime soon."

The green eyed wizard stared at his professor in shock. "How do you know about all that? And Voldemort try to recruit me? Why? He has to know I wouldn't accept. He killed my parents!"

"Dumbledore explained to me your situation at the beginning of the year and I believed all of it. As for Voldemort trying to recruit you, you are a powerful wizard who will only become better with age. You'd be a perfect recruit to his cause. He probably knows you'd say no too but if you did say yes, then its only better for him. No harm in testing the water is probably his train of thoughts." The professor stared into space for a few seconds before clearing his throat loudly. "Getting back on subject, I have up to four students I would like you to tutor, based on previous notes. I want to observe these students for another two weeks before I officially decide if they should be tutored. One is in your grade, one is a year younger and two are a year older then you."

Harry stopped gripping his wand in his pocket. It had become easier being in the man's presence after the apology. He tilted his head to the side, contemplating what the man was suggesting. He wanted Harry to tutor four students, two of which were older then him. Would that go over well? And did he even have enough faith in himself to teach someone who was learning stuff he still had a while to learn?

"People older then me sir? How would I know what to teach them?"

"Harry based on what I saw the day we...dueled I saw you do stuff most sixth years couldn't perform. Right now I'm trying to teach them how to deal with a hostile wizard, because thats what Dumbledore wants me to teach them. You could help them so much, especially if what I hear from Professor Kingsley is true. Best dueler in Hogwarts huh?"

The fifth year scuffed his foot on the ground, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Kingsley is just being modest sir. I've never dueled any seventh years yet. I don't know how I'd match up."

"I'm sure we'll find out."

* * *

"Why are all the fifth years here?" Ron asked, observing the large group of students gathered outside the dueling room. It was suppose to be just the Gryffindors.

"Professor Kingsley must have something in store for us," Hermione answered.

The door opened and everyone shuffled in. More seats then usual has been set up and the platform in the middle was bigger then it was last class.

"Today will be a very entertaining day for most of you. There have been many rumors flying around the school about who is the best dueler in Hogwarts. I'd like to settle that today. Adrian Pucey, the best dueler out of the seventh years has agreed to come in today and duel Mr. Potter, who many consider to be the best."

Kingsley indicated for Harry and Adrian, who had been leaning against the far wall when the fifth years entered, to step forward. As one the two teens stepped onto the platform, waiting for the professor to go over the rules they had heard so many times before. They stood at opposite sides of the platform sizing each other up.

Adrian was a little over six feet tall and had a wiry frame. He had long dark hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His eyes were a dark blue, almost black and he had a smoldering gaze similar to his head of house. The teen's lips were usually pulled back into a smirk, something most associated with snobbish purebloods from Slytherin, though Pucey's looked more sinister then any he had ever seen.

Harry surveyed Adrian, trying to figure out what kind of dueler he would be. They had played against each other several times in Quidditch and Harry knew the older teen was vicious both on the pitch and on the dueling platform, living up to his reputation as the Sadist of Slytherin; a nickname he earned by allegedly practicing dark spells on first years.

If he was to base things off of Adrian's personality, Harry expected to see borderline dark spells and spells that would not only cause him pain but humiliate him. Things that could cause great pain but wouldn't cause permanent harm if countered. He was guessing the Slytherin would try to overwhelm him with a barrage of spells right off the bat and that Adrian would rely on offensive might over defensive savvy.

If Harry could rely on his speed to dodge the first barrage and respond with a few spells of his own he might be able to sneak out with a quick victory by catching his opponent off guard. He had been keeping up with his jogging and had managed to do some basic exercises that relied on his bodyweight to keep him in shape. That meant he still had his endurance and stamina up, and should be able to out last the, most likely, out of shape pureblood wizard if the duel lasted a while. Not to mention if he moved in close enough he could rely on some hand-to-hand combat to win.

"Remember, this is a level three duel only. Nothing classified by the NDA (National Dueling Association) as dark may be used. Nothing that intentionally causes permanent injury or death can be cast. If certain spells, such as the asphyxiation series of curses, are used, their counters must be cast within a reasonable time period otherwise the caster is disqualified and will be reviewed for intent to kill or seriously injure, in front of the courts of the country the duel is taking place in. The duel will end when one duelist is unconscious, gives up or is knocked off the platform. Do both duelist understand the rules of the duel?"

"Yes," they both answered at the same time.

"Excellent." Kingsley hopped off the platform and observed the two teens. "Duelers bow to the ref."

They turned and bowed to Kingsley. "Duelers bow to each other." They turned toward each other and bowed, Harry going noticeably lower then his opponent. "You may begin on the count of three. One...two...three!"

Harry immediately took several steps to his left, getting out of the way of Adrian's opening barrage. He threw several stunners at his opponent, aiming half at knee level and half at the chest. His spells were blocked with a strong shield, each one letting out a muffled 'dong' sound as they collided. Adrian was sneering at his use of such an elementary spell.

A thin beam of dark gray light rocketed out of the Slytherin's wand and Harry quickly ducked underneath the spell. He surveyed Adrian, waiting for him to do something but it appeared the vicious teen was doing the same to him. Apparently he hadn't given his opponent enough credit in the brains department.

Not wanting to disappoint his opponent, who obviously wanted him to do something, Harry decided to go on the offensive. He started off by shooting out simple hexes like Jelly-Legs and Slug-Vomiting, keeping a steady stream up and giving Adrian little time to fire off his own spells. Then without warning he shot off a trio of bludgeoners. Pucey barely shielded against the first two and had to dive out of the way as the third one broke through his shield.

With a snarl Adrian unleashed a spiraling beam of scarlet magic. Harry threw up a bronze dome, which blocked the spiraling beam in a shower of sparks. Dispelling the shield, the Boy-Who-Lived sidestepped a navy curse and with whispered Latin words launched a lance of golden energy.

"_Recutio!_"

A wall of sparkling indigo particles popped into existence in front of Pucey. The golden spell slammed into the wall, making it explode in a ear-shattering 'boom' that sent bolts of energy crackling through the air.

The two teens had gone temporarily deaf from the noise; the crowd protected by the wards over the platform. However, just because they could hear didn't mean they couldn't speak.

"_Expello! Flamen_!"

The two blasting curses were swept to the side with a wave of Adrian's wand. The Slytherin returned fire with several crescent jets of black light, high powered cutters. With an upward flick of his wand, the green-eyed teen split all the curses into two and sent them careening around him.

A thick piece of chain shot out of Harry's wand toward his opponent but was quickly deflected. The older teen launched a wave of curses and hexes that Harry skillfully avoided. With a wave of his wand, Harry transfigured the discarded piece of chain into a snarling pit bull type dog. Its closeness to Adrian gave the teen no time to react to it before the dog had latched onto the Slytherin's lower shin, its teeth tearing into flesh.

"Argh!"

Harry launched a bunch of stunners, trying to end the fight but Pucey shielded himself from the spells while he tried to shake the dog off of his leg. Harry went with a high powered blasting curse but Adrian dropped to the ground and used the few seconds that gained him from Harry's spell fire to turn the dog biting him into meaty pulp, turning the dead animal back into a piece of chain. He recovered in time to block Harry's new set of spells as he struggled to his feet.

A spear of ice shot from the tip of the Slytherin's wand, aimed right at Harry's chest. With a wave of holly the ice spear stopped in mid air and quickly melted into water. The water was launched at Pucey, along with a bolt of electricity; both of which were dodged quickly.

"Warning to both parties, for use of deadly magics!" Kingsley shouted from his position next to the platform.

Harry shrugged, swatting a purple jet of light into the ground. He hadn't instigated the deadly force, just returned fire with some of his own.

"_Spiculumi Argentum!" _Silver darts shot out of Harry's wand like a machine gun, peppering Adrian's domed shield with small 'pht' sounds. "_Leve Escudos! Flipendo!" _A wave of blue magic slammed into Pucey's shield, causing it to shudder and collapse. Caught unawares the Slytherin was unable to dodge out of the way of the hex and it slammed into his stomach.

He was sent flying backwards and over the edge of the platform. Harry assumed his victory but was shocked when, with a wave of Adrian's wand, the platform on the other end was extended by several feet. The Slytherin's body slammed into the wards before he collapsed onto the newly lengthened platform, landing in a heap.

Harry looked to Kingsley, to see if such a maneuver was legal under the rules. Seeing his look, Kingsley nodded his head, showing it was allowed.

The Boy-Who-Lived launched a barrage of stunners but Adrian threw himself to the side. The Slytherin wand's jerked and with a 'bang' like a gun, a streak of black shot out of his wand faster then any spell Harry had ever seen. He tried to get out of the way but wasn't fast enough. The spell, which he was just finding out was a piercing spell, impaled through his left shoulder and tore apart skin, muscle, cartilage and bone.

"Aaahh! Bloody hell!" Harry quickly threw up his strongest shield and ducked behind it. He grasped at his injured shoulder, shuddering in pain.

"Does the dueler wield?"

Harry looked at Kingsley and shook his head as powerful spells bombarded his shield. He racked his brain for any healing spells he knew and came up severely lacking. Instead he cast a spell that wrapped his shoulder heavily in bandages that tightened painfully.

With a flick of his wand he dispelled his shield and stepped into the curse heading right toward him. He caught the sickly yellow curse in the tip of his glowing wand and sent it right back at Pucey. That stopped the Slytherin's barrage of spells as he was forced to shield himself and allowed Harry to cast a numbing spell on his injured shoulder, dulling the searing pain some.

The Gryffindor batted away two crackling spells before ducking down and flicking his wand; "_Ampeto_!" The crackling beam of energy shot forward but was dispelled in a flash of light. Harry conjured a lump of metal, which he used to block an incoming curse. Waving his wand, he turned the ball of metal into another pit bull and conjured a snake to accompany the dog. The dog managed to dodge a curse before launching itself at the older teen. However, it was hit in midair and its mangled corpse fell to the platform dead, turning back into the hunk of metal. The snake, who moved in under the diversion of the dog, wrapped itself around Adrian's legs and sunk its non-poisonous fangs into his upper thigh.

Ignoring the cry of pain and anger as the Slytherin decimated the snake, Harry lashed out with a spiraling column of sparkling pink energy. Pucey attempted to shield himself from the spell, but his wall of defensive magic was destroyed with a loud thunderclap and a shower of sparks. Harry's powerful spell slammed into the older teen with a blinding flash of light. Adrian was launched off his feet again, slamming into the wards one more time. However, this time he did not rise from the crumpled heap he landed in.

The wards around the platform flashed red, signifying that Adrian wasn't conscious and that the duel was over. Harry's shoulders slumped forward and he winced in pain as the adrenaline wore off and the pain in his shoulder came back ten fold.

"Winner Harry Potter!" Kingsley shouted as the wards around the platform collapsed. Most of the fifth years watching broke into applause.

Before Harry could even move, Hermione was at his side, quickly followed by Ron.

"Harry are you ok?"

"Mate that was bloody awesome!"

Harry waved off Hermione's concern and Ron's praise. Instead he slowly started walking off the platform. His shoulder was killing him and he was pretty sure if he didn't get it taken care of, he was going to collapse from the pain.

He glanced at the Slytherins that had crowded around Pucey. They had rolled him into his back and Harry could see that his last spell had burned through Pucey's shirt and upper robe, and there looked to be some second-degree burns on the teen's chest.

"What was that one spell? That wave of blue magic?" Hermione asked, eagerly.

Hermione was always eager to learn new magic. Harry knew for a fact that a lot of the spells he had learned from Sirius and Remus, and had read up on from several old Auror manuals , were things Hermione hadn't come across yet. She didn't focus on the fighting aspect of being magical like Harry did. Mostly because she didn't have too, while Harry had no choice.

"It's a recent American invention. A shield destroyer. Not effective on the high-powered ones but it will work on most," Harry gritted out, clutching his shoulder.

"And that golden spell? The one Pucey shielded with that wall of indigo? And do you know what spell created such a shield?"

Harry glanced at Ron, who merely rolled his eyes. "The golden spell is called the Minor Hammer of Thor. If it hit I would have cracked Pucey's ribs. It is a weaker variant of the Major Hammer of Thor, which is gold and lined with silver and if I had used that, I would have shattered Pucey's ribs. The shield Pucey used is called the Iron Wall."

"What about..."

"Hemione," Harry interrupted, "my shoulder is killing me and I feel like I'm going to pass out. We can discuss the duel in length later."

* * *

"Harry?"

The teen in question jerked his head up, glancing at the staircase to the girl dorms. At the bottom of the stairs stood Parvarti, she was clutching her robes around her body, staring at him. The common room was lit only by large orange flames flickering in the fireplace. Everyone was asleep, at least Harry had assumed everyone was asleep.

"Hey Pavarti," Harry murmured, turning back toward the fire.

He heard her soft footsteps as she approached the couch he was sitting on. She sat down to his right, leaning against the armrest. Harry himself sat in the middle, sprawled out with his arms behind his head. She stretched out her legs, laying them across Harry's lap. As her legs were extended her robe fell away from them, revealing her tanned and athletic legs, all the way up to her mid-thigh.

He looked away, knowing he was probably staring at her legs, but the light from the flames dancing off her skin was mesmerizing. He looked at her face to see her amused reaction. He blushed under her gaze and turned back to the fire.

"Was it a nightmare?"

Harry winced, hating how all of Gryffindor knew about his nightmares. It wasn't even the end of October and already he had given Hogwarts enough things to gossip about for the entire year.

"No. Just thinking."

"About what?"

Harry sighed not knowing how to answer. What wasn't he thinking about? The war, his part in it and his future were several things to came to mind. However, those didn't seem like great topics to talk about, especially with someone who wasn't involved in the war and didn't seem to want to be a part of it, even if she did think Voldemort was back.

"Attacks on muggles have started. Professor Bedeau warned of us that," Harry murmured. "I just wonder when its going to start getting worse. When the attacks start hitting closer to home. It's already bad enough innocent people are being tortured and killed for something they don't even know about."

"You worry too much Harry," Parvarti replied, reaching out with her hand and stroking his head. "This isn't your war. You don't have to worry about it."

Harry sighed, leaning into her hand. It always felt good when someone played with his hair. "If only it was that easy."

"Make it easy. Forget about what goes on outside these walls." Parvarti drew hers legs into herself and leaned forward. "Go to classes, do your homework and play Quidditch without any other worries. Be like any normal fifteen year old male, get a girlfriend."

As she spoke Parvarti leaned in closer to him. Her robe had opened up, revealing to Harry the skimpy nightgown she wore. He spared a brief glance at her impressive cleavage before staring into her eyes as she moved closer and closer to him.

"A girlfriend? I wonder who would want to go out with me?" Harry whispered, the Indian teens face getting closer and closer to his own.

"Me."

With that whispered word Parvarti brushed her lips against his own. He reached out, gently brushing his fingers against her cheek before sliding his hand into her hair.

* * *

Harry shook the rain out of his face as he trudged back up to the castle. His Firebolt was slung over his shoulder, his clothes soaked with sweat and rain. He had taken his broom out with him so he could do some flying after his morning run. However, it had only been about ten minutes before rain clouds had moved in and opened up.

It was hard to see anything, especially with his damn glasses on. He was about half way to the castle when a hand grabbed him from behind. He was tugged backwards before an arm was wrapped around his shoulders and a wand was pressed to his throat. The piece of wood was warm as it pressed against his adam's apple. Looking out of the corner of his eye Harry could see a silver hand holding the wand.

"Wormtail," the teen growled out, struggling to free himself.

Wormtail tutted, "I wouldn't do that Harry. You know how twitchy I can be, wouldn't want me accidentally sever your head off."

Harry growled but stopped struggling. "Fuck you you piece of shit. What the fuck do you want from me?"

"My master wants to meet with you."

"Tell Voldemort to fuck off!" Harry snapped out, renewing his struggle.

"Stop that or I will hurt you!" Pettigrew snarled, pressing the wand tip tighter into Harry's throat.

Harry thought about it. Wormtail owed him a life debt, didn't that mean the rat couldn't do anything that would cause him harm? If he remembered correctly from the rambling Hermione did after he found out Snape owed him a life debt, then that meant he was right.

"No you can't," Harry muttered, bringing his elbow forward and slamming it into the man's stomach.

Wormtail released his grip on Harry and stumbled backwards, holding his stomach. Harry turned around and punched the man in his face, causing him to stagger backwards some more.

The traitor raised his wand and cast a magical barrier between himself and the furious teen. Within an instant Harry had his wand in his hand and tried breaking through the barrier, but it was no use. It was to advanced for him to take down.

"So you know I can't hurt you as long as the life debt is in affect," Wormtail growled out.

"I'll kill you! How could you betray your friends like that!? After everything they've done for you!"

"I didn't want to betray James. Never James. Your father was the nicest person I ever met. He was the one that befriended me our first year. Included me in the pranks and helped me become an Animagus."

"He did all that for you and you sold him out!"

"I had no choice! The Dark Lord can read minds. He knew I was the secret keeper."

"How long did you lie to them? How long did you look my parents in their eye and let them think you were still on their side?"

"It wasn't that long. Despite what you may think I wasn't recruited until a few days before your first birthday, July 26th I believe. Ask Snape if you want to verify. He's the one that forced me into taking the Dark Mark. He's the one that recruited me!"

The breath left his lungs and a cold feeling started to fill his body. The man that made his life hell at Hogwarts had played a part in his parents death. Severus-bloody-Snape had recruited his parents betrayer and then had the gall to mock him in class?

"Why should I trust the word of a slimy rat?"

An evil smirk grew on Wormtail's face as he look Harry dead in the eye. "Ask Dumbledore. He knew about it when he accepted Snape to teach at Hogwarts."

Harry felt like he was punched in the gut. He stared at the man responsible for his parent's death in absolute denial. There was no way Dumbledore would allow Snape to teach the son of James and Lily Potter if he knew Snape was the one that recruited Pettigrew for Voldemort.

"You're lying."

"Poor Prongslet, too much blind faith in his hero Dumbledore to see the kind of person he really is!"

Harry snarled at Wormtail's mocking tone, his face twisting into a look of pure hatred.

"You don't have the right to even talk to me!"

A blast of raw magic flew from Harry's wand, slamming into the barrier and shattering it in a shower of sparks. Wormtail quickly turned into his rat form and started to scurry off. Harry attempted to hit him with a spell but was unable to hit the small creature. The Boy-Who-Lived gave chase, all the way into the Forbidden Forest but was unable to hit the small creature, surprised by how fast a rat could actually run.

Harry stood panting by the Forbidden Forest, wondering if he could light the entire thing on fire and burn Pettigrew alive. However, he was sure Hagrid wouldn't like that, not to mention the Centaur tribe and unicorns that lived in the forest.

He could hear a shout as someone ran toward him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Dumbledore moving far faster then someone his age should be moving at. Harry turned back toward the forest, not exactly sure how he felt about Dumbledore right now.

"What has happened? The wards alerted me to someone dark leaving the grounds."

"Wormtail was here. He tried bringing me to Voldemort but he owes me a life debt so he couldn't force me to go."

Dumbledore looked worried at that. "The wards should have kept him out."


	6. Junior Death Eaters

The Harry in this story is competent. He isn't super powered or anything but he's learning how to fight and he's good at it. He is also using his brain. He isn't a genius but serious studying and practicing is helping things come easier for him. He finds himself in positions where he finds out he has the powers of deduction and observation, and that he has a decent tactical mind. He's also more mature then canon.

This story will, hopefully, be long and have a good plot. There will also, hopefully, be some originality in it, something you haven't read in the hundreds of thousands of other fics out there, though that doesn't seem likely does it?

Oh and does anyone know of a way for me to fix these formating problems? I'm using OpenOffice and everytime I upload my document it puts extra space between paragraphs and there is no first line indent. I feel like that makes it harder to read the story. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Chapter 6 Junior Death Eaters

"Harry can we ask you something?"

Harry, his mouth open and a forkful of food hovering just above his tongue, turned toward his friends. He looked at them with raised eyebrows as he slowly ate his food.

"Where do you go in the mornings?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked at the two of them in confusion.

Ron decided to clarify. "When I wake up you're never in bed. When I talked to Hermione, who gets up at the ungodly hour of six-thirty every morning, she said she never sees you until you come back to shower before breakfast."

"Oh." Harry swallowed whatever he was chewing. "I go running around the pitch and do some light exercises."

"Really? What time do you get up?" Ron asked, curious.

"About six every day."

When neither of his two friends made a move to continue the conversation, Harry went back to shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth. He got three forkfuls in before; "Do you mind if I join you?"

Apparently, Harry wasn't the only one surprised by Ron's question because Hermione blurted out, in a incredulous tone, "You want to join him?"

Ron seemed offended by Hermione's outburst, since a pout appeared on his face. "Yeah, why not? Harry can duel six or seven times in a row and not break a sweat. The rest of us can barely duel four times in a row before we're panting heavily and in need of a break."

Harry smiled at Ron's reasoning. Dueling was something Ron was very serious about. The teen was in the top five out of the fifth years, even ahead of Hermione. It was something for him to be proud of and obviously he wanted to improve in the area. Plus, if Harry could show Ron that all of the greatest duelist were experts at Transfiguration and used it in their duels, then Ron might spend more time studying that subject, which would help his grades, along with Charms and Defense; the two main areas of dueling.

"Do you want me to teach you what I know about dueling?" The redhead nodded his head. "Sirius taught me the dueling style of the Black family and the dueling style taught to Aurors. Remus showed me a dueling style he created that involves the fluid movements of tai chi to attack and counter attack your opponent. I can teach you."

"Remus created his own style?" Hermione asked, tone curious.

"Yeah. Its best suited for fast paced duels and is pretty useful against multiple opponents, if you have a strong enough mind to focus on more then one person at a time."

Both Ron and Hermione seemed interested in what Harry was talking about.

"What about the Black family style?" Ron questioned.

"The Black style is focused on international dueling. Unlike the National Dueling Association, the World Dueling League has the opponents start in their dueling stance and neither is allowed to move until the ref signifies the start of the duel. The Black family style starts you off in a position where you can cast a spell within a second of the duel starting. There is actually a list of six spells that should be used to start off the duel because they are the fastest to cast. Remus's created style has to do with the fluid movement of the body, however the Black family style has to do with fluid wand movements, allowing the motion of casting one spell to flow into the motion of the next spell which allows for faster casting. Of course its complicated to learn because you have to know what spell movements can flow together in one graceful motion. Plus it doesn't rely on much physical movement, only magic to defend oneself."

Ron nodded his head at what he just heard, knowing a bit about dueling from when his brother, Bill, was an amateur on the circuits before heading to Gringotts' to be a curse breaker. Hermione, on the other hand, being a muggle-born had no idea how complex dueling actually was.

"I always thought dueling was just throwing spells at each other!" Hermione stated, impressed by the things Harry seemed to know.

"It is but its so much more then that. Watching Sirius and Remus have a serious duel is amazing. If the duelers have enough skill and finesse then watching a duel can be like watching an intricate dance. Of course after about five minutes dueling styles become hard to keep up if the platform becomes littered with debris or if you opponent counteracts your style."

The bushy-haired teen bit her lip and looked between her two best friends. "I want to join too. With Voldemort out there building an army it would probably be best if I trained in defending myself. And who better to teach me then the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry rolled his eyes at the last bit but couldn't help but look at his friends with pride. War was coming, he was sure of it, and if they were to be his friends through the thick of things, like they pledged they would, then they'd need to know how to defend themselves.

"Do you both plan on taking this seriously?"

"Of course," Ron answered immediately. Hermione just gave him a look.

Harry knew that Hermione would, the question was more directed toward Ron. Ron had been slacking off on his mental training that would allow him to become an animagus. The redhead wasn't the type to just sit there and do nothing but think, unless it had to do with chess. Harry had been told by Remus that they would be taking him out of Hogwarts next weekend to finally administer the test to see if he could be an animagus. He was hoping that if his test came back positive, that would give Ron extra motivation to do it.

"Good. If you guys will take this seriously than I will make sure to train you guys up good. I'll build up your endurance and stamina with some running and exercises so you won't tire out so easily." Harry started ticking things off with his fingers. "I'll teach you the basics of boxing and tai chi I picked up from Dudley, yes my fat cousin Dudley who I kind of got along with this summer, and Remus, respectively, in case you lose your wand. And I'll show you all the curses, hexes, jinxes and shields I've learned to build up your repertoires."

"Harry?" The trio turned to Neville, who they had forgotten was sitting next to him. The pudgy teen was looking at them with a hopeful look. "Can I come too?"

"Of course Neville." Harry answered, smiling at the teen.

Neville seemed thrilled at that. "Great! I won't let you down."

"Hey Harry," Ron was looking around, "where's Parvati?"

"Lavender just broke up with her boyfriend and needs emotional support, or something like that. I don't know the full details and I didn't bother asking."

* * *

October 28th was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. Remus and Sirius had planned on bringing him back to their house in Surrey to test him to see if he was an animagus, however, Harry had a date and so they rescheduled for tomorrow, Sunday.

Harry and Parvati walked hand in hand down the main road of Hogsmeade, debating about where to eat. Parvati was pushing for Madam Puddifoot's because she had heard great things about it from Lavender. Harry refused to go there because he had heard horror stories of the place from many of his older male friends, especially Fred and George. Harry was pushing for the Three Broomsticks because the food was great and the atmosphere comfortable. Parvati didn't want to go there because everyone would be there and they wouldn't be able to have any time to themselves.

"What about off the main road?" Harry asked, indicating all of the roads that separated from the street they walked on. He knew that to the south was the residential area, where dozens and dozens of houses, and the mayor's office stood. He knew that Madam Puddifoot's was to the north, on the eastern outskirts of the town. However, he didn't know what other stores and stuff were to the north.

Parvati looked thoughtful. "I don't know. My parents never took Padma and I off the main road when we were younger, and I never saw a reason to explore the pass few years."

"Do you want to explore the roads to the north? I'm sure there's a restaurant or something along there. And if not there is bound to be something that captures our interest." Parvati seemed hesitant. "What does it matter where we go, as long as we're together?"

"That's so sweet!"

Harry reminded himself to thank Sirius for the lessons in talking to females. While he told himself he wouldn't use whatever charm he had to bed females left and right like Sirius bragged his Hogwarts' days were like, that didn't mean he wouldn't use it to get on his girlfriend's good side or make her more agreeable to his way of thinking.

They walked to the end of the main road, stopping off at Honeydukes to get some chocolate and various other candies. Then they proceeded to turn left down the very last street, the one Madam Puddifoot's resided on, and head into the northern section of town.

The first things they saw, as they passed by the cutesy-restaurant-of-doom, was a small apartment building and a pub across from it. There were a few more shops of things neither had any interest in, like a gardening/herbology store and a place that sold materials used for runes and warding. The road turned left, showing that there was only two main roads and several blocks worth of stores in Hogsmeade.

"What is that?" Harry pointed toward a large building that looked to resemble a small Greek temple. It was made out of marble and was pure white. Pillars stood at the front of the building, with wide steps leading up to a series of entrances. Carved above the doorways was Zeus, who was throwing a lightening bolt at, who appeared to be, Ares. Ares was blocking the attack with his shield and had his spear raised as if he was going to throw it.

Parvarti shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before."

Harry looked around and spotted a middle-aged woman walking by. He quickly approached her.

"Excuse me ma'am, would you be able to tell me what that building is?"

The woman looked to where Harry was pointing. "Why that's the Hogsmeade dueling stadium. Been here since the fifties, surprised you've never heard of it or seen it. Rumor has it it's going to be holding the first round of the juniors division in the European Dueling Championship. Rumor also has it Harry Potter is entering in the tournament!"

"I am."

The witch took a good look at the teen talked to her. "Bless my soul, Harry Potter!" She clutched at her heart as if having heart problems, before grabbing a hold of his arm. "Don't let Britain down Mr. Potter and don't let the Daily Prophet get you down."

"I won't, on both cases," Harry said, smiling slightly.

The woman nodded her head before walking off. Harry turned toward Parvati and shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you want to check it out?" Parvati asked, nodding her head to the dueling stadium.

"No. This is our time and I don't want to waste it on that," Harry replied, smiling at her.

Parvati returned his smile with a beaming one of her own. She grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers and led him down the street. They walked slowly, passing various shops that failed to capture their interest pass a few seconds. They were almost to the road that led to the Shrieking Shack when they came upon the restaurant they had been looking for.

"The Long Dragon? Sounds like the butt of one of Seamus' bad sex jokes."

Parvati slapped him lightly on the shoulder, giggling. "It can't be that bad. Let's go in and have lunch."

* * *

"How was the date?" Sirius asked, poking his godson in the ear.

"Will you knock it off!?" Harry growled out, swatting at his godfather's hand. "You're like a child, only dumber."

"Oh you wound me!"

"Not yet but I will soon."

Sirius put his hand on his hips and stared down his nose at his godson, who was still several inches shorter then him. "You enter a dueling competition and all of a sudden your too big for your britches! Don't make me show you who the more experienced and BETTER duelist is!"

Harry guffawed. "I wouldn't want you to break a hip old man."

"Old man? Old man!?" Sirius shrieked. "I'm thirty-four years old! That's only a quarter the life for most wizards!"

"Whatever you say gramps."

Remus walked into the room, holding the goblet of potion Harry would need to drink. He shook his head at the antics of the two in front of him. It was like James and Sirius as teenagers all over again. Harry was the right age and Sirius still hadn't fully recovered from Azkaban, meaning most of the time he was still in the mindset of the twenty year old he was when thrown into prison.

"Its going to be extremely painful," Remus warned, setting the goblet down.

"You're going to feel like something is tearing apart your magic. Most people's reaction is panic and they try to fight it. That only makes things worse. Just try to relax because it only takes five minutes and your magic is fine afterward."

Harry nodded at Sirius's explanation before looking between the two adults. "How will I know it worked?"

"Several body parts, like hands and legs, will shift into that of animals." Remus was in professor mode. "It will be several animals that are possibilities of yours but its hard to determine which animals we're seeing from a random leg or so."

"That seems like it will hurt as well."

Sirius, who had experienced the potion decided to answer that one. "It does, but its nothing compared to the whole magic tearing thing so you barely notice it."

Harry just stared at the two men, wondering what kind of guardians would put their fifteen year old charge through such an experience. Then he remembered they were Marauders.

"Nothing to it but to do it, I suppose"

Picking up the potion the teen downed it all in one gulp. He tensed up waiting for the pain but it didn't come. He glanced at Sirius and Remus in confusion before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped to the ground.

"Maybe we should have had him sitting down..." Sirius stated as his godson slammed into the ground.

"Probably would have been a good idea."

"Did he pass out from the pain?"

"Aaaargggh!"

The two men jumped at the scream coming from the previously-thought-unconscious teen. "Doesn't look like it."

Harry came through the haze of pain wondering why anyone would willingly go through that. The five minutes of pain do to the animagus ability testing potion was worse then five minutes under the Cruciatus Curse. However, unlike a Crucio, the pain didn't linger from the potion which was the only thing in its favor. Now he knew why animagus were so rare.

Remus helped him sit up while Sirius glanced over a piece of parchment.

"You have the ability. We decided to write down every aspect of an animal a part of your body took over." Remus explained, noticing the teen's questionable look.

"You had a wing, the paws of three kinds of cats, the snout of a canine and your skin changed into scales."

"So I'm either going to be some type of bird, a feline, a canine or a reptile."

Remus nodded his head. "Probably a snake based on your parseltongue ability."

Harry wrinkled his nose at that. "Hopefully not a snake."

"Shouldn't be too bad. According to James I could have also turned into an insect and an aardvark."

"Sirius I always wondered, what exactly is your animagus form?"

"Yeah that was a big dilemma when we first turned into our animals. We had no idea what I was besides the fact that I was a canine. With the help of Remus we managed to find out that I am a mix of a Belgian Sheepdog and a Mackenzie Valley wolf, more wolf then dog. The wolf part is what gives me the longer legs, bigger feet and sharper teeth. It also gives me, if my dimensions are still the same from when I was seventeen, the five feet length, three feet height and one-hundred and fifty pound weight. The sheepdog part gives me the snout and the thick black fur, its why people always assume I'm just a large dog and never make the wolf connection."

"The animals we become, how is it decided?"

Remus straightened out his ruffled shirt and started in on a lecture. "Various reasons decide the animal. Things such as one's family, one's personality, one's abilities and, one's likes and dislikes all have an affect. Your father's form was a male red deer, a very regal and prideful animal that can have a temper when confronted by other males and is extremely protective of females he views as his. The same as your father in all regards. Sirius is loyal and faithful, which explains the dog part. He's also aggressive," "Hey!" "a predator," "What?" "non-trusting of strangers," "Now you're just making things up!" "and territorial, all traits of a wolf. Not to mention his playful behavior is something shared with most canines. Wormtail's form should be self-explanatory."

Sirius pouted at Remus' description of him, while Harry nodded his head, knowing all things to be true of his godfather. Sirius cleared his throat and decided to help give the lecture, since he apparently couldn't have Remus do it without being insulted.

"You also take on some characteristics of your animal. James started walking a little straighter and held his head up a little higher. His diet shifted more towards fruits and vegetables. He ran a little faster and jumped a little higher. He also became more cautious. I on the other hand started to prefer more meats in my diet. My hearing improved, as did my ability to see at night. I also saw an increase in my need of eye contact when communicating with people, something wolves do."

"So when I first change into my animal I'll see a difference in some of my behavior and an increase in a physical aspect, like eyesight?"

"Yup. The animal becomes a part of you."

Harry nodded his head. "That explains your constant bad breath then."

"That's it! You're dead Potter!"

* * *

Harry sat panting on the teacher's desk in the abandoned classroom. With the dueling competition only a month away he wanted to perfect his own dueling style. He had read up on the Potter dueling style, which was similar to the Aurors in that it was a perfect balance of offense and defense. However, the Potter family was well known in its Rune casting and apparently everyone born a Potter had an affinity for the art, something no one had ever told Harry. Therefor, he was unable to use the crisp sharp movements of the Potter dueling style as his own.

He was trying to incorporate a mixture of the Black's, Remus's and the Potter's with his own few twist thrown in there. It was a lot harder then he thought, especially getting everything flowing together. Great duelist had several styles in their repertoire. He suppose he could try not using one at all, just doing whatever he wanted, but that was hard to do in fast paced duels like this. Instincts and luck could only keep him in the tournament for so long against more skilled opponents. Of course, duels that lasted beyond five minutes usually fell into free style chaos anyway.

Footsteps and harsh whispers broke him out of his train of thought. The door to the room he was in was thrown open and without thinking of it, Harry rolled off the desk and ducked underneath it. He glanced out and saw eleven blacked cloaked figures enter the room, one being pushed in by the others. The green-eyed teen pulled back underneath the desk, steadied his breathing and kept as still as possible.

"You don't have much time to decide. We're going to be starting soon. Are you with us or not?"

The one that was forced into the room by the others looked around nervously. "I don't know. How sure are you we won't get caught?"

"The Dark Lord has given us a way to escape Dumbledore's wandering eye. Things to freeze the portraits and repress the magic of Hogwarts in small areas."  
Harry cautiously glanced out and marked the tallest one in the group as the leader, the one doing all the talking. He recognized the voice from somewhere but was having trouble remembering where.

"What about Potter? He's dangerous."

Harry quickly pulled back again as one of the cloaked figures snorted. "As if Potter is a threat."

The leader cleared his throat. "Apparently Potter has a map that lets him see everyone in Hogwarts, a map that can't be fooled by invisibility cloaks, polyjuice or wards. Luckily the Dark Lord has one of the maps creators in his service. He gave us something that will hide us from the map. When we attack, we'll activate them and Potter will never know who we are."

"I'm in. Its time we started doing something about this school anyway. Its drifted too far from the ideals of the founders."

"Good. Take this." A piece of parchment was pass to the once-reluctant cloaked figure. "Instructions will appear on it when its time. This is how we'll plans things from now on. Its too risky meeting en masse like this. Don't want to draw anymore attention then necessary to us."

As the group started to leave the room, Harry contemplated whether or not he should just jump out and start flinging curses around. He might be able to take out a few in a surprise attack. Still that left him with eight or nine guys against him. Not good odds. Best to just wait and then go to Dumbledore. Even if his faith in the old man had been shaken, the headmaster would know what to do.

* * *

_Hogsmeade Hosting Junior Dueling Competition! Harry Potter Participating!_

_With the registration for the European Dueling Championship coming to a close yesterday the counsel of the World Dueling League has finally released information on the upcoming tournament, as well as the list of participants. _

_The first round of the juniors division will be held in the Hogsmeade dueling stadium. Hogsmeade hasn't hosted a international dueling tournament in its entire history. An anonymous source, close to the counsel, told us that Hogsmeade is be given this honor due to Britain's most known participant, the Boy-Who-Lived himself. Many experts don't think Potter, who just entered his fifth year at Hogwarts, will make it pass the first round, which is why it is being held in Hogsmeade, so Potter can make the trip to the village, get eliminated and go back to class._

_Mayor Joseph Maddock, with some funding from the Ministry, is having a large hotel built near the stadium to help house all the people coming in for the week of the first round. Initial reports have over five thousand witches and wizards traveling to Hogsmeade, the small village of only six hundred and fifty-seven. Even the Tri-Wizard tournament didn't attract this many people. Many of the shop owners are excited for the rush of new shoppers and expect to see a 400 percent increase in profits for the week._

_The two hundred and thirteen duelist will be housed in a serious of small cottages being erected on the large meadow that separates the borders of the town and the mountains to the east. The cottages, which will house three duelist each, will consist of three bedrooms, a bathroom and a dining area. _

_Noticeable participants include; last years winner, Italian DeAngelo Benedetto, 20, last years runner up, Estonian Triska Rebane, 21, and former Tri-Wizard competitors Fleur Delacour, 18, and Viktor Krum, 18. _

_The United Kingdom will be sending seven competitors in all, fifth highest total behind Russia (11), France (10), Germany(10) and Italy (8). Duelist that participated in last years tournament include; Adrian Pucey, 17, a seventh year at Hogwarts who was eliminated in the first round last year. Marcus Calloway, 20, a Magical Law Enforcement Squad member for the Ministry, who was eliminated second round last year. Helen Joyce, 20, a spell crafter for the Magics of Merlin Industries made it all the way third round before being eliminated in her final duel. _

_The new faces for this years tournament are; Lucian Bole, 18, a recent graduate of Hogwarts and Ministry security troll training employee. Michael Patterson, 21, a Curse Breaker for Gringotts. Samantha Capper, 19, Dragon Keeper in Romania. And of course, the one everyone is sure to be interested in, Harry Potter, 15, student of Hogwarts, last years Tri-Wizard tournament winner and the Boy-Who-Lived. _

_Harry Potter, as many of our faithful readers will know, has been spreading false rumors of the return of You-Know-Who. Something several mind experts have said is an obvious cry for attention. Minister Fudge has gone on record stating that Potter is delusional, attention seeking and a liar. Rumor has it that his form to enter the tournament was signed by Sirius Black, Potter's magical guardian and godfather. One has to wonder how exactly Mr. Potter got the fugitives signature if such a story is true. For all we know Potter could be in contact with his criminal godfather, the man who sold his parents out to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. _

_After the first round in Hogsmeade, the tournament will move to the dueling stadium in Tampere, Finland for the second round, which will only take five days. The third round will take place in Madrid, Spain for three days. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will all take place in the Roman Coliseum in Italy, each round being a different day. The winner goes home with the trophy and twenty-thousand galleons grand prize! Let us hope this year that the United Kingdom fares better then last year. _

_For information about the Senior Division European Dueling Championship see pg. 3. _

Harry passed the Daily Prophet to Ron, shaking his head at their desire to ruin his name. He glanced at Hermione who was staring with a horrified look at a muggle paper her parents had sent her.

"Harry, you should take a look at this."

Harry took the paper, looking at the brown haired witch in confusion. Why would a muggle paper concern him? He glanced at the picture posted on the front page.

"Merlin," the green eyed teen whispered.

The colored photo showed every graphic detail. On the ground, laying in a circle were fourteen dead bodies. Their faces were all mutilated beyond recognition and on each of their chest was carved 'Potter.' Seven of them were males with black hair. Seven of them were females with dark red hair. Hanging from a noose in the middle of the circle was a male teenager who looked remarkably like Harry. He had messy black hair, glasses and a similar jawline. Carved into his forehead was a lightning bolt.

"How did he know I would even see this?" Harry asked, his face pale as he stared at the picture.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "He has to know you have some connection to the muggle world. Maybe he assumed you and your relatives got a long and they would contact you."

"Why fourteen on the ground and one in the tree?" Ron asked, his face green as he stared at the photo over Harry's shoulder.

"It's Halloween. Its been fourteen years since he murdered my parents," Harry whispered. "And he's telling me I'm next."

Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper, looking around quickly. "I thought he was trying to recruit you."

"I told Wormtail to fuck off, I gave him my answer."

"Harry you have to be careful. You saw it yourself, there are at least eleven Death Eaters in Hogwarts who can cause you harm."

Ron rolled his eyes at Hermione. "I say you find out who those Death Eaters are and take them down one by one."

"Great idea Ronald, except for the fact that he has no way of finding out who they are!"

"I bet you one of them is Malfoy. Slimy little snake that he is," Ron muttered, turning around to glare at the blond.

Harry shook his head, already thinking of such a thing. "No. None of them were small enough to be Malfoy. He's a few inches shorter then me and skinny. Most of them last night were taller then me or my height and the two that weren't were either chubby or stocky. Unless Malfoy wore several pairs of clothing or charmed his robes to look bigger, he isn't one of them."

"That still leaves half of Slytherin though. Crabbe, Goyle, maybe even Zabini!"

"True but I don't think all of them were Slytherin. If they were, why not just hold the meeting in the Slytherin Common Room or somewhere in the dungeons? They were up near the Transfiguration classroom. That's closer to the Ravenclaw dorms."

"You put a lot of though into this didn't you?" Hermione asked.

"Whatever they're doing, its going down tomorrow. People could get hurt."

Ron looked around and noticed that several Gryffindors were leaning toward their whispered conversation. "We should probably go somewhere more private."

The last part was emphasized loudly, causing the eavesdropping Gryffindors to turn away quickly. The Golden Trio got up quickly and started to leave the Great Hall. Harry noticed Neville staring at them and beckoned the teen to join them. The four of them traveled to the defense classroom, where class would be starting for them in thirty minutes. Professor Bedeau wasn't in the room, so they were the only ones there.

Harry sat down on a desk as the other three sat down around him. He filled Neville in on what the other two already knew.

"I know they're all guys. None of them are small enough to be Malfoy, let alone a female."

"Except Bulstrode," Ron muttered.

"Except Bulstrode," Harry repeated, smirking. "That also eliminates first through third years. Even Ron wasn't that tall as a third year."

"So we're looking at every male in fourth year and above?" Neville asked.

"No. Muggle-borns won't be involved. They're Death Eaters, which means they are most likely bigoted purebloods. Half-bloods are possibilities but muggle-borns won't be. That eliminates what, a quarter of them right?"

Hermione seemed to be doing some calculations in her head. "Roughly."

"That still leaves sixty or seventy guys!" Ron burst out, slamming his hand on his desk.

"No it doesn't. You can cross off Seamus, Fred and George amongst others, as well as yourselves," Hermione pointed out.

Harry nodded his head. "We can also cross off probably another twenty names based on physical build alone. None of the Gryffindor fourth years are big enough."

"During lunch I'll create a list of every male half-blood and pureblood fourth year and up. We'll cross off everyone who isn't a suspect."

"This could take ages!" Ron moaned.

"Yeah," Neville said, voicing his agreement. "I don't know about you guys but I don't know anything about the Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins outside of our own year."

"We can't just do nothing. We'll whittle down the list. Tomorrow we'll take turns watching the map, to see if we can spot any names disappearing. That will alert us to who is involved. Agreed?"

"Sounds like the best plan of action," Ron said shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll make sure I get every male written down on there," Hermione promised.

"What map?"

"I'll show you later Nev."

Neville looked between them, his face set in resolve. "I'm ready to step up and help. This time around you won't have to petrify me because I'm getting in the way. This time you can rely on me."

There fellow year mates started to enter the room, looking curiously at the four teens. Harry patted Neville on his shoulder. "That's good Nev. Welcome to the world of the, terribly named in my opinion, Golden Trio, where mystery and death lurk behind every corner."

"Well when you put it like that maybe I should leave..."


	7. Attacks

Chapter 8 should be posted in a day or two. Just need to add another page or so and do some touching up.

Chapter 7 Attacks

Harry's leg bounced nervously as he sat and ate. It had been two days since he had overheard the conversation amongst the junior Death Eaters. Tonight was the night they were suppose to do whatever they were doing. He had told Dumbledore, who promised to keep an eye and ear out and had alerted the professors that something was amiss.

The list Hermione had made had helped them whittle the number down to forty- five potential suspects. Slytherin had the most, but that was to be expected since they only had a handful of muggle-borns in their house, easily identifiable by the fact that they sat in a separated group near the front of their table.

So far there had been no incidents throughout the day and when Ron had handed him the map, he had reported that all their suspects were still visible. Harry looked around, picking out forty-one of their suspects. He glanced underneath the table, where he kept the map pressed against his thighs. Two Ravenclaw suspects were in the library, a Hufflepuff was in his dorms and a Slytherin was in the potions lab. If they didn't disappear he could easily cross them off the list. As for everyone else, it was too hard to distinguish names while everyone was packed together in the Great Hall. If the eleven Death Eaters activated whatever it was that made them invisible to the map, he wouldn't know who it was.

They left the meal early, some of the first to leave. Harry walked back with Parvati, Ron and Hermione. He walked with his girlfriend leaning her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his arm. His other hand held the map, which he glanced at every now and a then. He had explained what it was to Parvati the other day, letting her in on one of his biggest secrets. He didn't tell her why he kept looking at it though.

He turned down a corridor and got some curious glances from his friends.

"Harry this isn't the way to the Gryffindor common room," Parvati pointed out.

"It is, its just longer and out of the way."

She glanced at him. "Then why are we taking it?"

"Wayne Hopkins is down here for some reason. I'm curious as to why. "

Ron leaned forward and hissed in Harry's ear. "Isn't Wayne a muggle-born? He can't be a suspect."

"No but he can be a victim," Harry whispered back.

Ron's eyes widened in surprise, the thought never occurring to him. Parvati looked at the two of them suspiciously and added Hermione into the stare as Ron whispered into her ear.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Parvati asked.

Harry didn't have to answer because screams started to echo down the corridor, barely audible but still loud enough to make all their ears twitch. The Boy-Who-Lived took off running, the others hot on his heels. They came to T-intersection, the screams coming from around the corner. Harry came to a stop, the others nearly crashing into his back.

Green-eyes peered cautiously around the corner. Eleven figures surrounding one prone. So this was th junior Death Eaters big plan? Isolate muggle-borns and attack them, eleven to one?

"Parvati get Dumbledore. Now!" He whispered urgently, quieting the protest on her lips. She rushed off to do as he said, shooting him a glance as she left. "I'll go low, Ron you go high. Hermione you stay behind us and shield. On three."

The trio positioned themselves against the wall of the corner. Harry crouched down and steadied his breathing. "One...two...three!"

They jumped around the corner, spells shooting from Harry and Ron's wands. The black-haired teen's first spell went wide right and slammed into the wall, showering rock fragments onto the group. Ron's first spell hit a short one in the stomach and sent the cloaked figure stumbling backwards. Their next spells were blocked and return fire was sent their way. Hermione was able to block the first few but it soon became to much for her to handle and Harry had to stop attacking in order to help defend them.

Harry frantically weaved his wand through the air, deflecting a barrage of curses into the floor. He tried to reflect as many as he could back at the casters but there was too many for him to block. Ron was shooting as many spells as he could but eleven people capable of defending against one attacker meant he didn't land any hits.

"Let's get out of here before Dumbledore shows up!"

The junior Death Eaters retreated quickly, blocking the trio's desperate attempts to stop them. When the last cloaked figure disappeared from sight, Hermione rushed to Wayne's side. Harry and Ron moved at slower paces, glancing around them in case all of the junior Death Eaters hadn't left.

"He needs serious medical attention. I don't know any healing spells. All I can do is seal up the smaller cuts and bandage the rest. I think he has some serious internal damage."

Harry twirled his wand in the air, conjuring a stretcher. Gently, him and Ron picked up the broad-shouldered teen and placed him on the stretcher. Together the two males were able to lift the stretcher.

"Hermione you lead the way, we'll follow."

* * *

"Mr. Potter, please stay after class."

Harry watched as everyone else packed up their things and exited the room. He turned toward Professor Bedeau, wondering what the teacher wanted.

"Its taken me a little longer then I thought but I would like you to tutor only two students instead of four. The others have increased their grades sufficiently enough. The two I want you to tutor, a Ravenclaw fourth year and a Slytherin fifth year, really need this. Especially the fifth year if she wants to get above a Dreadful on the OWLs. "

"Er.... I'm kind of busy right now sir. With Quidditch practice, my own homework and training for the dueling competition I don't really have much free time."

"Of course thats understandable. What about next term? After the holidays and the tournament? We only have a few weeks left before winter break anyway. I'll even exempt you from homework in this class to make things easier."

Harry thought about it. So far Angelina hadn't scheduled morning practices, mostly because she wasn't a morning person and loathed when Oliver use to do it. He doubted that was going to change since Ravenclaw and Slytherin seemed to be dominating morning practices this year. That meant Quidditch took up three nights of his week, which would increase when games approached, like the one next weekend.

The rest of his free time right now was dedicated to homework, training for the dueling competition and Parvati, not necessarily in that order. Once the competition was over he'd have an extra fourteen hours every week, plus whatever time he got from not having to do defense homework. More then enough time to tutor someone. Besides he had wanted to build new friendships this year anyway. He had done that in Gryffindor. It was probably time to start in the other houses. He just hoped the Slytherin wasn't Malfoy.

"Sure. Next term should be good for me. Do you mind me asking who I'll be tutoring?"

"The Ravenclaw is a girl named Luna Lovegood. The Slytherin is Tracey Davis, who I'm sure you're familiar with."

He had vaguely heard Ginny mention being friends with a Luna. He wondered if it was the same girl. Tracey was a pretty and quiet girl who seemed to be part of Parkinson's group. Not one of the antagonizers in the group but definitely one of those that snicker at whatever the perceived leader says. The sessions might be hostile but since he had never heard her speak he hoped she was just doing it to not be the center of Parkinson and Malfoy's ire.

* * *

Neville, Ron and Hermione all lay on the ground panting heavily. A cool breeze blew through the pitch, sweeping over their sweat soaked bodies and making them shiver. Harry was still running and had been doing so ten minutes more then Hermione, the last of the three to collapse. The sun had yet to rise, and wouldn't do so for another half hour. They ran by the light of the moon and stars. A pale glow showering the area with enough light to see a few feet in front of you.

Hermione had protested when they had first started, about going outside when it was still dark out. Things lurked in the dark she warned. Harry had been in Voldemort's head, he knew the kind of creatures that roamed in shadows. However, the wards around Hogwarts had been revamped in the early hours of the morning two days after Pettigrew got onto the grounds. Harry knew because he had stumbled upon the professors performing the task while going for his morning run. He had assured her of their safety.

Panting lightly Harry came to a stop next to his friends. He looked down on them with a grin, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Nothing like a good three mile run, or in your cases a good mile run, to get your blood flowing huh?"

They would have glared at him, if they had the energy. As per the usual routine, the one they had been following for almost two weeks now, Harry had to threaten the three of them in order to get them through their warm down stretches and the various exercises. Things would start getting easier the next few weeks as their bodies adjusted but for now, they were sore and they hated it, but mostly they hated him for making them do it.

He walked them through the moves of tai chi and made sure they remembered how to properly throw a jab, cross, hook and uppercut. He did some light sparring with them, working on their blocking, speed, instincts and ability to read an opponent. He had them practice the dueling styles of the Aurors and the one Remus made up. A dueling style wouldn't do much for them in a fight for their life but it disciplined their wand movements to allow for easier and faster casting. It also gave their bodies new ways to react during fights. Before Harry had learned Remus's style, he had never tried to catch a curse thrown at him and sent it back at his opponent.

The sun had risen while they went over the last aspects of their physical training for that morning. Finally they moved to spell work, everyone's favorite part. Harry first had them practice everything he had already taught them. The first few days he had taught them a variety of Auror level bludgeoners, piercers, banishers, explosion hexes, bone-breakers, cutters and shields. The last few days he had moved onto the more powerful spells. The Minor Hammer of Thor, a fairly power bludgeoner. Ares' Spear, a powerful piercing curse. King Arthur's Shield, a wall of powerful protective magic.

It had taken them a couple of days to master each. Hermione, much to her annoyance, was struggling with them more then the other two. Harry feared they were reaching Hermione's limit in power. The spells he was teaching them were indeed powerful, but he knew there were still dozens of spells more powerful then any of those even he had learned. There was only a few more spells he wanted to teach them that she would be able to cast and he dreaded the day that came to pass.

"Right. Today I'll teach you the Lightning Bolt of Zeus."

"Why do the more powerful spells have such ridiculous names?"

"I don't know Ron. I don't name them, I just cast them." Harry waved his wand, conjuring a wooden target thirty feet away. "_Fulgzeus!_"

A thick bolt of lightning flew from the holly wand and hit the target. It exploded in a shower of splinters, some of them on fire. Harry grinned at the, "woah," that came from Ron and Neville's mouths before turning toward the three.

"It's just a downward slash of your wand. Nothing too complex."

"Will it kill if it hits someone?" Hermione asked.

"Well, don't go using it on Dumbledore because Merlin knows if his heart can take it but any healthy wizard with a strong heart will survive getting hit by it. They'll be in a lot of pain and more than likely knocked out though."

They practiced for twenty minutes, until it was eight-fifteen and they only had 45 minutes to shower and eat breakfast before classes started for the day. They walked quickly to the castle, goosebumps rising on their flesh as the cool November air nipped at their damp skin.

"Anything new on the Junior Death Eaters?" Neville asked.

It had been two weeks and Wayne Hopkins was still in the hospital. Broken ribs, collapsed lung, a lot of internal bleeding, fractured cheekbone, dislocated jaw and a lot of cuts and bruises. Only some of the damage was caused by spell work. Most of it was due to the junior Death Eaters kicking and stomping all over the Hufflepuff.

Harry shook his head frowning. "No. As far as we know they haven't attacked again. If they're smart, which unfortunately I'm sure some of them are, they'll start taking more precautions. Maybe some repelling and silencing wards to make sure people don't stumble on them as easily as we did that first time."

"I still can't believe Fudge refused to send Aurors to Hogwarts. Not even to investigate. And then he has the gall to try to make you the main suspect!" Hermione's faith in the magical government had been shattered into billion of tiny pieces.

"He wouldn't do anything with Parvati and I backing Harry. If he tried arresting Harry without good evidence then he'd have two powerful pureblood families going after him. If the Potters, Longbottoms and Patils added their combined weight and went after Fudge he'd have to do a lot of bribing and sucking up to other families in order to remain in office."

Hermione looked at Neville in interest, never knowing that the teen knew so much about wizarding politics. She had tried to question Harry but even now he was still pretty clueless in the area. Ron was useless too because he had no need to care. His father wasn't even the head of the Weasley family and even if he was, there was still five males ahead of him who would inherit the position of head of family before him.

"What can you tell me about the Wizengamot Neville?"

Neville looked at Hermione warily, knowing that this could take a while. "Its divided into two parts and has two roles. The first role is similar to muggle parliament, the second is the high court in the magical United Kingdom. The two parts are the pureblood families and the elected members.

"There are eighty-eight pureblood families who hold a seat on Wizengamot. Out of those there are thirteen noble-families. The Potters, Patils, Longbottoms, Boots, Diggorys and McKinnons are the "light" families. The Rookwoods, Lestranges, Blacks, Vaiseys, Montaques, Malfoys and Notts are the "dark" families. Of course the words light and dark are relative and families from each side have been known to form alliances with each other over political issues that will benefit their families. Many of the seventy-three regular pureblood families have pledged their political aid to certain noble families. For instance the Weasleys have pledged to support the Diggorys, the Averys have pledged to the Malfoys, the Bones' have pledged to the Potters and the Changs have pledged to the Longbottoms.

"The other part is the elected members. This section involves the head of every department in the Ministry, the Minister, two elected elders, an elected Chief Warlock and, a recent add in thanks to Dumbledore, ten elected half-bloods and/or muggle-borns. The elected members are always involved in the Wizengamot, whether its to vote on laws or act as the jury in a trial. Only the noble families can act as a jury, if they so choose, but generally the pureblood families only attend to vote on laws."

Harry and Hermione listened to his lecture with rapt attention, Hermione because she was curious and Harry because it pertained to him.

"When does the Wizengamot get called into session? To pass laws, not act as the jury," Harry clarified.

"Well if the Ministry of Magic passes a law the head of one of the noble families can call into question the integrity of the law. That will bring the law in front of the entire Wizengamot, where it will be voted on. Fudge's administration hasn't passed a law since Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban."

"Thanks Nev. Its good to know I can make Fudge's life hell."

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Harry glanced down into the eyes of his girlfriend. "I'm playing with your hair."

She rolled her eyes at his obvious answer. "I know that but why? It took Lavender quite a while to get the plait right and you're probably messing it up."

He looked at the long plait of hair he had been fiddling at with his fingers. It was starting to come undone and now he felt guilty.

"Maybe if your hair wasn't so silky smooth I wouldn't feel the need to run my fingers through it," Harry argued, pouting.

She sat up, taking her head off his lap and took the plait into her hands to examine it. "Lavender is going to kill you when she finds out."

"Well lets say we mess up your hair some more so I can really earn that killing." Harry waggled his eyebrows, grinning.

Parvati laughed, shoving him by his shoulder. He grabbed her arm and gently tugged her into his direction. She crawled onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the lips. She went to pull away but he stopped her, placing his hands on her back and keeping her body close to his. Their kissing started to get more passionate until Parvati's stomach let out a small rumble.

Harry pulled back snickering, which only increased at the embarrassed look on her face. "Dinner wasn't that long ago," he reminded her.

"Yeah but you didn't have to help Lavender weigh the pros and cons of potential boyfriends throughout dinner. I barely got a bite in!"

"Lets go to the kitchens then."

She looked at him in mild shock. "You know where the kitchens are?"

"Of course."

"I should probably stop being surprised by you."

"It would make things easier," Harry agreed, standing up.

He offered Parvati his hand, which she took. Pulling her to her feet, he checked his watch; another hour and a half until it was curfew. More then enough time to get down to the kitchens and grab a bite to eat. They left the common room, hands entwined and started the trek downwards, eight floors down to be precise.

"So how did you find out about the kitchens?"

"Hermione discovered it last year, sometime around the first task. I don't know how she did it, maybe coerced the info from Fred and George."

"What else do you know about Hogwarts?"

Harry thought it over. There was a lot he knew, but what did he want to tell her? "I know what was behind that door on the third flood from first year."

"What?" Parvati asked eagerly, looking at him with pleading brown eyes.

"A large room with a trap door. Its empty now but back then it housed a cerebus."

"Really? Dumbledore kept a three-headed killing machine in these very halls?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah and the worse thing is, its Hagrid's pet. He keeps a giant three-headed dog as a frickin pet."

That reminded Harry he hadn't seen much of the gentle giant outside of class. He would have to arrange to go down there for some tea.

"Do you know what was beyond that trap door?" she pressed.

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter. If I didn't know what was beyond that door then something would be wrong with me and there wouldn't be a good story. It was a labyrinth of rooms with various challenges. The first room contained this gigantic Devil Snare plant that almost strangled Ron and I to death when we landed in it. Luckily Hermione was there to defeat it, even if she did forget she was a witch and started to panic because there was no wood to make a fire." Harry snorted at the memory. "The next room was filled with these winged keys that flew around the room. You had to use a broom to catch the right one to open the door to the next room."

"And I'm guessing the youngest Seeker in Hogwarts history had no problem getting the key?" Parvati asked.

Harry just shrugged his shoulders, a slight grin on his face. He came to a stop, forcing Parvati to stop as well, in front of the painting with the pieces of fruit.

He nudged Parvati forward. "Tickle the pear."

"What?" She was giving him a weird look.

"Tickle the pear. Trust me."

She slowly tickled the pear in the painting and let out a gasp of surprise when the door knob appeared. Pulling it open, Harry ushered her into the Hogwarts kitchen. As soon as Harry stepped foot into the room, something small slammed into his legs.

"Harry Potter has come to see Dobby?"

Glancing down Harry saw Dobby clutching his legs and looking at him with adoration. He had forgotten the house elf was working at Hogwarts.

"Hello Dobby. How have you been doing since I last saw you?"

* * *

"Harry, where are we going?"

"I don't know. Something is telling me to go this way. I think its Hogwarts."

Parvati gave him a weird look but silently followed him, clutching his hand tighter as they walked farther down the dark corridor. The farther down they walked the more Harry thought he had some homework he really needed to finish.

Parvati stopped dead and started to tug his hand the other way. "Harry, I need to finish my divination homework, lets go back."

He was about to agree because it seemed he too had some homework to finish. However, he felt the tingling of magic several feet in front of him and something clicked in his mind.

"Its repelling wards! Parvati we've got to fight this. I think the second attack is farther down this corridor!" With some effort, he tugged her along with him. The second she passed through the wards, her mind seemed to clear and she forgot all about homework.

His wand was in his hand as he sprinted as fast as he could. He could hear Parvati fall behind him, breathing heavily as she struggled to keep up. He didn't see any of the junior Death Eaters but he could hear whimpers of pain. It was so dark he almost tripped over the bodies on the ground, not seeing them until the last moment.

Laying in a broken heap were the Creevey brothers. A large pool of blood lay underneath them and Dennis' right leg was bent the wrong way. This wasn't good at all.

"Dobby!" Harry shouted, praying the house-elf would answer.

There was a small 'pop' and the excited creature appeared in front of him, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Harry Pot..." Dobby stopped in mid-speech and just stared with wide eyes at the scene in front of him.

"Dobby get Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey down here now!" Harry yelled, startling the house-elf from his trance. With a nod of his head and a snap of his fingers Dobby disappeared.

Harry dropped to the ground, trying to remember the few basic healing spells he had learned. Small lines of blood flowed from Dennis' mouth, where the occasional bubble of the red liquid was formed. Harry didn't know if the second-years lungs were filled with blood or not but decided to be safe anyway.

"_Anapneo!_"

Besides him Parvati had conjured some bandages around Colin's stomach, where a large hole the size of a fist had been blown. He glanced at Dennis' broken nose, where blood was pouring out of. With a wave of his wand and a muttered "_Episkey_" the blood stopped flowing and the nose fixed itself with a snap.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, causing Harry to spin on his heel and raise his wand. It was only Dumbledore, Snape and Madam Pomfrey, who let out a gasp at what she saw. She immediately rushed to both their sides, Snape following at a slower pace as he withdrew vials of potions from his pockets. The two Gryffindors moved backwards, allowing the experts to take care of the situation.

"I think it would be best if you two went back to you common room," Dumbledore all-but-ordered, clapping a hand on both their shoulders.

* * *

"Harry can I talk to you?"

Harry turned around and saw Wayne Hopkins standing there, shuffling his feet nervously. He motioned for Parvati to go ahead without him. He watched her go through the portrait and into the common room before turning back toward Wayne. He wondered how the teen found out where the Gryffindor dorms were.

Wayne had been released from the hospital wing yesterday with a clean bill of health. Still that was almost a month stuck in bed while disgusting tasting potions were poured down his throat. He was paler, skinnier and had dark circles under his eyes but other then that, Wayne looked relatively healthy. If you didn't count the haunted look that now resided in his dark brown eyes.

The Hufflepuff rubbed the side of his neck nervously. "Madam Pomfrey told me you, Ron and Hermione were the ones that stopped the attack from going any further."

"I knew something was going on. We tried to prevent it from happening but we don't know who is involved and couldn't keep an eye on everyone. It was only on a hunch that we stumbled upon you," Harry explained.

"Well it was a hunch I owe my life too." Wayne looked uncomfortable.

"You don't need to say anything. I'm just upset I couldn't stop them sooner."

The Hufflepuff scratched the back of his head, and looked at everything but Harry. "You guys saved my life. From what I remember they were going to keep going. And the thing is, it could happen again. They weren't caught and now I can't even rely on the Ministry to make sure it doesn't happen again. So I was wondering if...you'd be able to teach me to defend myself."

Green eyes blinked, not expecting such a request. "You want me to train you?"

"Its obvious your the best fighter in this school after Dumbledore and a few of the professors. Dueling and defense are good but their learning it too." No need to ask who they were. "Extra training can help me defend myself. Especially if You-Know-Who is back like you claim....and I believe."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair and thought about it. He was already training Ron, Hermione and Neville, would it be that difficult to add one more to that group? Wayne would be behind by almost three weeks but Harry was sure he could divide his attention between four people. It didn't seem like that big of a problem.

"I'll train you if you do things my way."

Wayne nodded his head frantically. "Of course!"

"Good. I'm training Hermione, Ron and Neville too. Meet us by the front doors at six in the morning." Wayne looked dismayed upon hearing how early he'd be getting up but upon seeing Harry's stern face, nodded. "Its not just magical training. Prepare to run and do some exercises to keep relatively fit as well."

"Thanks Harry!"

The next morning Harry woke up as usual, making sure Ron and Neville were up as well. As they were getting ready Seamus poked his head out of his curtains.

"What are you guys doing up so early?" he asked, his voice groggy.

"Training," Ron said, dismissively.

"What's the noise for?" Dean questioned, also sticking his head out of his curtains.

"These three are going training," Seamus answered, more awake.

"Why didn't you guys tell us?"

Dean started to climb out of his bed and Seamus, seeing Dean do it, started to climb out as well. Harry looked at them with some horror and realized they wanted to do some training too.

"Its mostly physical," Harry stated, hoping to deter them.

"Good, I've always thought being a wizard was making me lazier," Dean answered, pulling on a pair of shorts.

"I'm gonna start developing a gut soon." Seamus slapped his stomach, grinning at Harry.

Harry shot Ron a look, who returned it with an apologetic one of his own. They waited the extra minute for Dean and Seamus to get properly dressed. Harry mentally added another two to the list he was keeping of people he was buying wand holsters for Christmas. It didn't feel right watching Ron, Neville and Hermione leave their wands on a bench on the Quidditch pitch while they ran and did the other physical stuff. A witch or wizard should have their wand within five feet of them at all times, especially in these times. No telling when Death Eaters were going to come knocking.

They walked into the common room where Harry found, to his surprise, Ginny waiting with Hermione. Hermione shot him an apologetic look when he first came down, which turned to surprise when Seamus and Dean came down as well. Harry shook his head, not wanting an explanation for Ginny and not wanting to give one for Seamus and Dean.

"Looks like we're adding more people to the group," Harry muttered.

When Harry led the group down the stairs and into the Entrance Hall, it wasn't just Wayne waiting for him. Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Megan Jones were all there as well. He approached them warily, noting that they all wore work-out type clothes.

"Sorry Harry," Wayne started. "When I told them what I was doing they all decided to join me."

He had gone from training three people to eleven in one day and he had only invited one of the extras. He supposed he could be a prat and tell the extras to bugger off but he knew he wouldn't do it. Harry couldn't deny people the chance to learn how to defend themselves.

"Let's go. I'll start you new guys, "Hey!" "figure of speech Hannah, on the same stuff I started these three on when they first joined me. Ron, Neville and Hermione, I expect you guys to know everything physical I taught you down pat, so you can help me teach them that." The three nodded their heads in agreement.

"I'm not going to teach you how to fight. Dueling class is doing that. What I'm going to do is make you stronger and make it so you don't tire out so easily. What I'll teach you will discipline your bodies and allow them to react instinctively to certain situations. If you lose your wand I'll teach you the basics of defending yourselves with just your body as a weapon. The spells I'll show you will allow you to throw more then the same curse over and over again at your opponent, and it will help put your opponent down, for good if necessary."

He stared all the new people in the eye, waiting to see if anyone backed down. Susan, Ginny and Wayne all looked at him with hard eyes. Hannah, Justin, Seamus, Dean and Megan looked at him with some trepidation but they tightened their jaws and nodded as his gaze met theirs.

* * *

He dove to his left, completely jumping off his broom as his right hand snagged the quaffle. It took a second for his body to start to drop, giving him enough time to pull the quaffle to his chest and use his left hand to snag the shaft of the Firebolt. His full body weight pulled down on it, making the broom jerk downwards several feet before stopping at a hover.

Katie came flying by, probably to offer some assistance. Instead Harry threw her the red ball and swung his right hand up, grabbing his broom shaft with both hands now. He pulled himself up easily, nodding to Katie as she started to dart to the other end of the pitch.

So far he had managed to block thirteen shots but he had let in four. The Gryffindor chasers got the lions in the lead, but it was only by a score of 90-40, a score that they'd been stuck on for five minutes. Despite some bumps in the first few minutes, Roger Davies had all but locked down the Ravenclaw hoops. Fred and George were disrupting the Ravenclaw chasers too much for them to have many chances to shoot on Harry.

If Cho managed to catch the snitch before Natalie, then Gryffindor would lose. It was a big possibility to since Cho had three more years experience. Apparently Angelina thought the same thing because after stealing the quaffle from a Ravenclaw chaser, she called a timeout. The entire team descended to the ground and looked at each other.

"Davies is shutting us down. We need to try some of the new stuff we've been working on. Fred, George, I want you two to distract the other chasers, we'll do the rest. Got it?" The entire team nodded. "And Natalie? Catch that snitch!"

They shot into the air again, Angelina starting with the quaffle at her own goal post. Madam Hooch gave the whistle and the Gryffindor Captain shot forward, Katie and Alicia hot on her tails. Harry watched them dart around the pitch, Fred and George managing to keep the opposing chasers away from their own chasers and to prevent the Ravenclaw beaters from doing anything productive.

A cheer went up through part of the crowd as Alicia scored, giving Gryffindor a 100-40 lead. However, the cheer died down quickly as the two seekers started a dive. Harry could see the golden snitch dancing away from their finger tips. His own fingers twitched at the sight of the ball and for a second he thought of giving chase.

Ravenclaw was making a move toward his hoops, all three of them rocketing forward. It seemed Alicia, Katie and Angelina had been blocked by the seekers while trying to defend the Ravencalw chasers. Fred or George knocked a bludger into the lead chaser, sending the lanky teen swerving erratically through the air. The other two rushed forward, pass half-field and closed in on the scoring area. They split up, the one without the quaffle flying toward the left hoop while the one with it flew toward the right.

Only one could enter the scoring area but at the speed they were flying, there would only be a few seconds between one entering the scoring area and flying pass the hoops. That meant, unless they tried a long distance shot, whoever entered the scoring area would be the shooter.

He looked at them, neither one slowing down in its approach. They tossed the quaffle back and forth, trying to confuse him. The one nearing the right hoop grabbed the quaffle and shot into designated area and Harry flew to intercept him. However, the chaser tossed the quaffle across the pitch and did a back flip out of the scoring area. The other chaser yanked the red ball out of the air and entered as soon as his teammate exited.

Harry, who had already committed to the right hoop, pulled hard on his broom and lurched to the left. He pushed his broom as much as he could, trying to close the distance. The Ravenclaw launched the quaffle at the left hoop while he was ten feet away. Harry kicked out with his foot, hitting the quaffle higher into the air. He reached out and snagged it before the chaser had realized his shot was blocked.

Scanning the pitch he launched a pass to Angelina, who was sitting just beyond half-field. She was wide open, no one on either team was around her. As soon as his pass fell into her waiting hands, she rocketed toward the Ravenclaw keeper. The seekers were getting closer to catching the snitch but if she scored that would either widen their victory or lessen their loss. Either way it was an extra ten points in the standings.

It happened almost simultaneously, Angelina scoring and Cho catching the snitch. No one knew if Angelina's goal counted, until after some arguing by the Captains and deliberation by Madam Hooch it was decided the goal account. Even with the final goal counting, Gryffindor loss; 110-190.


	8. First Round of Duels

For those who have read my profile know I am not a fan of Harry/Hermione pairings. Some are alright, if well written but I can't stand the Harry falling in love with someone right off the bat without dating anyone else stories. I put the pairing as Harry/Hermione for this story because that is going to be Harry's longest relationship in this story, and its going to be the one he is in on the last chapter. When all is said in done he could very well still end up with Hermione, but the relationship they have in their fifth year won't last. He's a teenager. How many people fall in love with the person they know they want to spend the rest of their life with when their fifteen, sixteen or seventeen years old?

Chapter 8 First Round of Duels

The dueling stadium in Hogsmeade had been divided into three separate dueling platforms, with encompassing stands surrounding the raised areas. The first duels of the day would start five minutes apart and after every duel ended, there would be a fifteen minute break before the next started.

Harry didn't know who he was facing off against first but he knew his first duel was starting the tournament. His middle duel was the ending to the fourth day of duels. He also knew his final duel was the last duel in the first round.

He was standing in the area around platform one, waiting for people to start arriving. No one was in the area yet, just him and it was making him nervous. Harry glanced around, wondering where Remus was. All duelist were given three free tickets to each of their matches and were allowed to have two "advisors" accompany them to the platform, where they could sit on the sidelines and watch. They weren't so much advisors as people you wanted around you in case of the worst. The rules used to be a lot more brutal then they are now and sometimes duelist died on the platforms. He had asked Remus to be one of his advisors and Remus had assured him he had the perfect second advisor in mind.

Hearing his name called Harry turned to see Remus, who was glancing over a piece of parchment, approaching him with a man he had never met before. He was a little taller then Remus with blond hair, brown eyes and a pleasant smile.

"Hello pup!"

"Sirius?"

The strange man smiled, his brown eyes shining with delight. "You think I'd miss this? Hell no!"

"Who are you?"

"One of the muggles from the neighborhood. Don't remember his name exactly, starts with an R though."

Harry glanced around, noting the few Aurors who stood guard around the contestants area. "Are you going to be here for the entire contest? Are you sure you won't be noticed?"

"I have enough polyjuice to last me a month, non stop. More then enough to stay with you every step of the way as you win this thing!"

The teen blushed under his godfather's praise. "I don't think I'll get that far..."

"Stay positive Harry!" Sirius replied, winking. "In the meantime, Remus and I are your advisors so feel free to ask us for advice. You can call me Orion."

Remus looked up from the piece of parchment he was reading, a frown on his face. "Who ever set this up either wants you out quick or thinks your amazing."

Sirius and Harry both winced. "How bad is it?" Harry asked.

"You're first match up is against Juan Baia, a 21 year old Portugese Auror who was the runner-up two years ago but couldn't participate last year because he was chasing down a potential dark lord and couldn't get off the case. Your next opponent is Lidia Sawicki, a 19 year old Polish witch who was eliminated in her last duel of the third round last year by DeAngelo Benedetto, last years champion. Your final opponent is 20 year old Donat Pirvu, a Romanian who placed third last year. All pre-ranked in the Top 20."

Sirius whistled appreciatively. "That's quite the first round. My guess is Fudge pulled some strings and got you some tough opponents to discredit you even more. If you advance though, you'll be a serious bet to win the entire thing."

Harry shook his head, trying not to think of it. "Have you seen everyone?" Harry had given his three free tickets to Ron, Hermione and Parvati. Neville had purchased his own and Mr. Weasley had managed to get two tickets for him and Mrs. Weasley.

"Yeah, they managed to get here kind of early. Should be in the front row near your starting position." Remus pointed toward an area of the crowd.

Harry turned to look and managed to spot everyone. They waved at him, trying to convey encouragement with facial expressions and thumbs up. He smiled in return, waving his thanks before turning back to Sirius and Remus. The smile dropped from his face, replaced by anxiousness.

"I just wish they would start this thing already."

"Relax. Don't worry."

"Easy for you to say Si...Orion."

* * *

Harry started off in the Black opening stance, his wand poised to attack the second the duel started. His opponent, an athletic male with black hair and a stern gaze, waited in a crouch. If Harry was to guess, starting in a crouch position allowed one to spring away from the opening barrage of one's opponent and launch one's own attack at the same time.

"Three...two....mark!"

Harry immediately launched a barrage of red jets of light, sweeping his wand back and forth. His opponent had dodged to the left and launched his own curse before being forced to deal with Harry's varying attacks. The Boy-Who-Lived ducked underneath Baia's opening attack, not pausing in his own spell casting. His wand arm moved gracefully through the air, the movement of one spell flowing into the movement of another.

Baia was forced on the defensive, dodging and shielding from Harry's nonstop wave of spells. A length of chain shot out of the Portuguese wizard's wand, barreling toward Harry. Stopping his attack, Harry banished the chain back at his opponent. Flicking his wand, he turned the chain into an angry badger. The large weasel was dodged and blasted into chunks before it could do anything.

Stepping forward and pivoting off his left heel, Harry dodged the first of the return fire. He caught the second one with the tip of his wand and using the momentum of his pivot, turned in a full circle before flinging the curse back at Baia. He was forced to shield the third and fourth curses before diving out of the way of the fifth.

Rolling to his feet he wove a glove of protective magic around his left hand. He used his magical glove to bat away a spell, freeing up his wand to attack.

"_Pesante!_"

The spell rocketed from Harry's wand as he swatted away another hex. He watched as his curse was dodged and the older wizard launched a jet of swirling black magic.

"_Recutio!"_

A wall of sparkling indigo particles popped into existence in front of Harry. The black energy slammed into the magical wall and it seemed as if a black hole had formed as all the magic seemed to be sucked into the point of impact. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of a light as the black hole of energy exploded outward, sending Harry flipping head over heels. He landed with a thud on the edge of the platform, his left arm hanging over the side.

"_Pr...protego."_

The shield popped into existence in time to deflect an orange jet of light into the air. Struggling to his feet, the Boy-Who-Lived clumsily rolled underneath a piercing hex. He was pretty sure nothing was damaged, he just had the breathe knocked out of him. He just needed to buy himself some time to recover.

"_Avis. Serpensortia. Serpensortia._" He had trouble gasping out the spells, side-stepping another hex in the process.

He tapped the heads of the two kingsnakes he had conjured, turning them invisible. He could hear the hiss of them bearing their fangs at him. He ducked underneath another curse and hissed back at them. "Attack that human!"

The flock of birds flew in circles around him while the two snakes slithered forward. A bright beam of light rocketed his way and a trio of birds dove in front of it, disappearing in a cloud of feathers. One of the serpents was killed halfway down the platform with a spray of acid. However, the other one was proving elusive and Baia was having trouble spotting its chameleon form.

Waving his wand, Harry sent a silent stunner. The red jet of light was deflected easily with a wave of the Auror's wand. The Portuguese wizard shot another powerful hex at Harry, but the remaining birds flying around the green-eyed teen sacrificed themselves by taking the hex.

"Argh!" Two holes of red appeared on Baia's right wrist, his wand arm. His blood, which poured from the wound, dribbled onto the disillusioned snake. The Portuguese wizard had managed to hold onto his wand and quickly grabbed it with his left hand. Baia severed the snake's head from the rest of its body and attempted to pry away the fangs embedded in his skin.

Harry took a deep breath, getting over having the wind knocked out of him. "_Expello!_"

Baia forgot about the snake head still hanging from his wrist and shielded himself from the violet beam of light.

"_Deleo!"_

It was the first time Baia had voiced a spell and Harry guessed it was because the spell was really powerful. A cackling jet of light rocketed forward and slammed into Harry's just conjured pulsing golden shield. Crackling energy filled the air as Harry's shield shuddered under the power of the spell. His feet scraped against the platform as he was pushed backwards, struggling to maintain his protection. He won the battle, the curse disappearing with a 'pop.' With an upward flick, the Boy-Who-Lived made his protection explode outward in a large shower of magical shrapnel. Harry ducked down low as Baia shielded himself from the fragments of energy and waited for his opponent to make a move.

A large wolf was conjured out of thin air and was sent sprinting down the platform. Harry decapitated it before it got halfway down and sent its corpse flying back at Baia. He sent an explosion hex at the wolf's body, his jet of magic colliding with the corpse as Baia went to banish it back Harry's way. It exploded in a shower of gore, covering the Portuguese Auror in blood and chunks of flesh. As his opponent threw up a shield to wipe his eyes of the thick red liquid that covered his face, Harry launched a cyclone of green magic.

His powerful spell slammed into the older wizard's shield, making it disappear with a sizzle, his spell continuing on unaffected. Baia tried to dive out of the way, but he was caught in the tornado of energy and thrown high into the air. He landed with a thud on the ground and wasn't able to attempt to get up before a stunner clipped him in the head.

The wards around the platform flashed red and the crowd went crazy. With the adrenaline gone, Harry could hear the commentator for the first time since the match started.

"And Potter wins his first match, using his opponents transfiguration against him! Time of match, seven minutes, thirteen seconds. What a, pardon the pun, bloody good match! It certainly looks like Potter has some skill, as he bested someone widely considered a Top 10 participant in this duel. Personally I thought Potter showed he was the better duelist. He started out strong, used some creativity, showed his power and besides that incident with Baia's magic absorbing explosion hex, he stayed ahead of his opponent. However, we'll have to wait to see what the judges think."

Harry walked off the platform, right into the open arms of Sirius and Remus. A healer rushed by him to awaken Baia and make sure he didn't suffer any serious injuries.

"That was amazing! I didn't know you had gotten so good!" Sirius praised, pulling his godson tighter into the hug.

"Do you think I'll get the second point too?"

Remus guffawed, ruffling the teen's hair. "Absolutely."

Harry glanced to where he had seen all his friends sitting. They were still clapping for his performance.

Sirius gently shoved Harry's shoulder, nodding toward the judges table. "They've come to their decision."

The ref stepped forward and took several small scraps of parchment from the three judges. He glanced over them for several seconds before nodding his head. The referee tapped his throat with his wand.

"Ladies and gentlemen," his voice shouted, reaching every inch of the stadium. "In an unanimous decision, the judges have ruled Harry Potter the better dueler!"

The crowed went wild again and Harry felt himself being lifted off his feet and twirled around by Sirius, who was laughing. When he was placed down on the ground, he was swept into a hug by Remus.

"Two points!" Sirius shouted, holding Harry's hand above his head.

Harry laughed, his godfather's happiness too contagious not to. "Alright advisors, advise me to where there's food."

"There's a large buffet over in the duelist waiting area. Or if you want we can go to the Three Broomsticks, my treat!"

"Three Broomsticks. I need some butterbeer."

"We'll go get everyone and meet you at the front of the stadium. You should probably head over to that healer over there before she has a heart attack. She's been waving you over since you stepped off the platform." Remus nodded his head to a fairly young female healer who was giving him the death glare.

"I don't think I want to go over there," Harry muttered, staring wide eyed at the evil eye he was receiving.

"Use the Marauder charm!" Sirius cried out as Remus led him away.

Harry slowly walked over to the healer. He felt fine but he knew if he told her that she wouldn't care. Madam Pomfrey never did.

"I've been waving you over for the pass five minutes," she stated, angrily, as he finally came to a stop in front of her.

"You could have said something."

"I did but you probably didn't hear me over that obnoxiously loud blond guy you were with."

Harry winced, that was Sirius alright. He allowed himself to be poked and prodded as she ran diagnostics spell over him. He sat still, use to the routine from all his time spent in the Hospital Wing. However, he couldn't help but let his shoulders slump forward as a familiar and annoying figure approached him.

"Harry darling!"

"Rita, I was hoping someone stepped on you."

"Harry thats no way for you to greet an old friend."

He stared at the journalist with disbelief. "Old friend? You wrote that I was crazy and emotionally damaged."

"Much better then whats being printed about you now don't you say?" she asked, looking at him over her glasses.

"Maybe. What are you even doing here?" Rita held up something clipped to her jacket. The word press was written in bright green letters, with the words Daily Prophet underneath. "I thought you weren't allowed to write for a year? Your agreement with Hermione?"

"What that snotty-nosed brat forgot was that I could register anytime I wanted. As of three days ago you're looking at the seventh registered animagus this century."

"First of all, don't call my friend names," Harry warned. "Second of all, stay away from me."

She completely ignored him. "Harry, dear, how does it feel to win your first match? Do you think the judges decided in your favor because of who you are? Were they swayed with pity over you still pining to see your parents again?"

Harry sighed, barely hearing the healer tell him he was clear to leave. Rita Skeeter was never going to change. She would always be the fact twisting harpy chasing down the next story. Wait.

"Rita, I just thought of something. How would you like to have the potential story of the year?"

Her quick quill stopped in mid-writing and she looked at him curiously. "And what pray tell Harry, would that entail."

"Well obviously you've heard about what I've been saying happened during the third task with the graveyard right?"

She snorted. "Who hasn't?"

"I'll tell you the story. The whole story. Nothing but the truth."

He could see the contemplation in her eyes. It might alienate her from Fudge and therefor the Daily Prophet but she could make a lot of galleons selling the story to other papers and magazines.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch. I want the story out there, so people can start questioning Fudge and hopefully preparing themselves so they won't be caught unaware and go into full blown panic when Voldemort," he ignored her shudder, "reveals himself. You're someone people read, they'll take you seriously."

"I'll do it but on one condition."

He rolled his eyes, wondering what she could want. "Which is..."

"You also tell me what happened in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh come on the entire wizarding world knows something happened. Rumors have been going around for ages. The only things I can verify as fact are Ginny Weasley disappeared, taken by the heir, whoever that was. Then you, Ron Weasley and Gilderoy Lockhart disappear. Hours later all four of you appear and Lockhart is in St. Mungo's."

Harry winced. The Hogwarts rumor mill was imaginative and harsh. He wondered what the entire United Kingdom's rumor mill was like?

"Fine."

"Great, but I want a contract to make sure you don't flake on our agreement. In six months, after the talk about the third task article dies down, we'll sit down for the Chamber of Secrets article."

"If we're writing this in contract, than I want to make sure I get the final edit over what you're writing. I have enough problems with the Prophet, I don't need you painting me as some emotional, unstable dark lord wannabe on top of that."

They shook hands, agreeing to meet after Harry's next match.

* * *

Harry felt like crying out in frustration as his trio of curses were absorbed by yet another rune. He had done some studying in rune magic once finding out it was the Potter family's area of expertise, yet he didn't know enough to duel with it or to duel against it. He had already berated Remus and Sirius for not telling him Lidia Sawicki was a rune duelist until the match was starting.

They had been going at it for six or seven minutes already. Harry was wasting his energy over-powering his spells, since the only way he knew how to get rid of the defensive runes being used was over-powering them. Luckily physical objects and powerful shields were good enough to stop rune attacks, other wise he'd be screwed. It seemed like the only way he'd be able to win was by physical means. He had tried using some conjured wolves, lions and snakes but if she didn't have runes to stop the animals, she had quick wand work that put them down before reaching her. He would have to think outside the box.

Sawicki's hex slammed into the platform in front of Harry's just erected shield. Shards of the platform were tossed in the air as a cloud of flames erupted into existence. The fire rolled over Harry's shield, causing beads of sweat to appear on his forehead as his shield didn't defend from the heat. The fire covered his line of sight to his opponent. He twisted his wand and his shield twisted its shape, forming a ball around the fire. He flicked his wand and sent the large magical ball full of fire flying at Sawicki.

As the magic surrounding the ball was destroyed and the flames dispelled, Harry noticed that his opponent had drawn another rune in the air. The rune glowed brightly and Harry had only a moment to stare at it warily before a spiraling vortex of dark energy came flying at him. He attempted to shield it but it passed right through his wall of defensive magic, forcing him to try to dodge it. He failed miserably and found himself surrounded by darkness.

"Does it scare you?"

Harry whipped around, attempting to find the voice talking to him. All he could see was black, as if he was blind.

"Does it keep you up at night?"

"Whose there? Where am I?"

"To know that no matter how hard you try, you'll never be good enough. That you'll fail them, just like you failed your parents."

Harry spun around again and lost his breath at the sight in front of him. Lily Potter was untouched as she lay on the ground next to a cradle. Several feet away from her body, laying over a toppled couch was James Potter, his chest burned, half his right hand blown off and the left side of his face devoid of any skin. This must have been what they looked like when they were killed.

"One by one they'll fall."

Ron crucified on the front door of the Burrow. Hermione's body, separated into six pieces and laying in front of the gates of Hogwarts. Sirius missing his eyes and tongue, mouth open in a silent scream as his mutilated body swung from the rafters of Azkaban. Remus sprawled on the ground with a silver stake through his heart, pinning him to the floor of the Shrieking Shack. Dumbledore, laying in a broken heap at the base of the astronomy tower.

"And it will be your fault because you weren't strong enough."

The worst moments of his life, the moments where he felt powerless and weak, flashed before his eyes. Cedric dying. The Dementor leaning over Sirius' body. Ginny lying motionless on the Chamber of Secret floor. Ron being smashed by the black queen. Various times of being abused by the Dursleys. Staring up with wide eyes as Voldemort aimed his wand at his mother's back. His mother's green eyes staring into his green eyes as she whispered the last words she'd ever speak; "You are my life, Harry. I love you."

"Aaaahhh!" Harry's eyes snapped open and he found himself on his knees on the dueling platform. The darkness was gone and a glowing dome of white surrounded him. He gasped for breath, noticing Sawicki attempting to break through the shield around him. With shaking knees he got to his feet, swallowing the saliva that had gathered in his mouth. He gripped his wand tighter and took a deep breath.

Suddenly the dome fizzled out of existence and a bone-breaker was flying right at him. He instinctively dove to the left, his right arm snapping up as a teal jet of light lurched from his wand. As his spell was batted away he twirled his wand, an idea forming in his mind, and conjured a horse. He shielded against the return fire and pulled himself up on the animal. With a kick in the hindquarters the creature started to gallop down the platform. It was only as the beast started forward did Harry realize riding a horse bareback without any training was a bad idea.

As his groin area took damage, he blocked the cutter aimed at the animal's legs. Dueling platforms were only sixty feet long, so the horse was upon Sawicki quickly. Harry jumped from the horse's back, watching as his opponent cut off the animal's head and dove out of the way of its body, which was carried by its momentum even as it started crashing to the ground.

As the Polish witch came out of her roll she stood up only ten feet from Harry. She went to curse him but Harry parried the spell before it had even left her wand. He moved in quickly toward her as she scrambled to move away from him. Like most witches and wizards she probably wasn't use to duelers getting this close. Harry had counted on that. Actually he had hoped the horse would take her out, the close dueling was his plan B. Always good to have a plan B.

He was faster then she was and after parrying another curse stood not even a foot away from her. He saw the nervousness in her eyes as she tried to cast another spell. He didn't bother with his wand this time, using his left forearm to knock her wand arm into the air. Her curse rocketed over his shoulder, a roaring sound filling his ear. He jammed his wand into her stomach and caught her with a stunner before she even registered the piece of holly stabbing into her gut.

The wards flashed red as she dropped to the ground. He didn't even spare her a second glance as he started to walk off the platform. That darkness had gotten to him.

"Harry Potter has won again, after riding a horse at his opponent. I don't think I've seen anything like that in my fifteen years of commentating. Time of match eleven minutes fifty-eight seconds. I've managed to find out that the rune used by Sawicki that dropped Potter to his knees was an Ancient Egyptian Fear Rune. Powerful stuff but it didn't seem to be able to hold Potter down for long if it even affected him, judging by the powerful shield he was able to conjure under the influence of it. Hard to tell who was the better dueler in that one."

"What the hell happened?" Harry asked, stepping off the platform.

Sirius shook his head, having no idea. "We were hoping you could tell us."

"She hit you with that fear rune and you just dropped to your knees. She went to hit you with a stunner but all of a sudden that white shield just sprung into existence in front of you and blocked the spell. She tried almost everything and nothing would work," Remus explained.

"I didn't cast it. All I know is I was surrounded in darkness and then I'm on the ground and theres a brilliant white dome of magic surrounding me."

Sirius and Remus both shrugged their shoulders, having no explanation. "Chalk it up to another amazing power of the Boy-Who-Lived." Sirius' tone was half-serious, half-joking.

Harry shook his head, not wanting to think about it any longer. Instead he decided to change the topic. "Do you guys have the contract?"

Remus held up the scroll of parchment Rita Skeeter had sent to Harry. He had gone over it for the teen and deemed it good enough to sign. "Why you're doing this interview with that bitch I'll never know."

"I told you Sirius, its time people finally realize the truth."

Before Sirius could reply, it seemed the judges had made their choice.

"The judges have reached their decision. With two votes to one, the better dueler during this match was....Lidia Sawicki!"

Harry's shoulders slumped forward as he frowned slightly. He had faced an unknown dueling style and had nearly loss. He only had three points, which meant he would more then likely have to win his next match and be considered the better dueler if he wanted to advance. Still, he considered himself extremely lucky he had somehow conjured that shield to protect him after he was hit by that fear rune, otherwise he'd be eliminated right now, despite the fact that he'd have one more match to duel.

"Could have been worse," Remus stated, patting Harry on the back.

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

The bright flash of light blinded Harry and he was forced to throw up his strongest shield and duck behind it. This duel had been going on for a good five minutes and neither of them had managed to hit the other yet. He blinked rapidly, trying to get his eye sight back quickly. When the large spots finally went away he glanced up and saw two jackals and a large black bear barreling towards him. He quickly dispelled his shield and waved his wand, blowing one of the jackals to pieces.

Back pedaling, Harry crushed the skull of the bear seconds before it was going to club him with its paw. He twirled around, dodging both the spell shot at him and the other jackal as it attempted to latch onto his wand arm. With a flick of his wand the final jackal was cut into two halves. Bending down, Harry lifted up the front half of the dead canine and used it to block the powerful spell shooting at him. Flesh sizzled as searing heat blazed across the dead animal's upper torso.

Tossing aside the half of corpse he was holding, Harry waved his wand and sent a dart of blue magic shooting forward. It burrowed through Pirvu's shield and clipped the Romanian in the side. The older wizard growled out a fast-flying cutter. A downward flick of the Boy-Who-Lived's wand sent the cutter careening into the ground, where it cut a deep swath into the platform.

Harry vanished both jackal corpses and turned the dead bear into a marble wall that stopped two piercers and a bludgeoner in their tracks. The marble wall exploded in a shower of shrapnel from the explosion hex that slammed into it. Quickly waving his wand, Harry prevented the majority of the fragments from cutting him to pieces and instead banished them at his opponent. Still, some had clipped him on his left side, tearing into the flesh of his arm and chest.

Pirvu turned the flying marble shards into sand, which fell harmlessly to the ground. He launched a lance of pink magic, which Harry chose to dodge instead of shield. The green-eyed teen launched a large icicle but it was melted in a blast of flames. Getting an idea, Harry ducked underneath a sizzling red beam of light, the smell of burnt ozone assaulting his nose.

"_Aguamenti." _

His wand shot the water out at an alarming rate, forming a large puddle in front of him. He glanced at Pirvu, to make sure he wasn't going to shock the water while it was so near to Harry. He had to shield himself from a trio of spells the Romanian shot at him but the older fighter made no move to shoot electricity at the liquid.

Twisting his wand in a complicated fashion, Harry allowed himself to be hit in the left shoulder with a bludgeoner in order to complete his transfiguration. His shoulder snapped backwards as he finished with his wand movements. The large puddle of water morphed into a large lion, which immediately launched itself at Pirvu. Harry tried to roll his shoulder but couldn't do it and that lanced up his arm. It was dislocated and his muscles were probably bruised beyond belief.

His lion was killed in mid leap, landing in a heap at Pirvu's feet. The more experienced dueler flicked his wand and sent a crackling spear of magic flying at Harry. The fifteen year old teen blocked the curse with a dome of vibrating purple magic. He dispelled the shield quickly and waved his wand, making his lion corpse revert back to its original form. The water fell to the ground and created a large puddle around Pirvu.

"_Fulgzeus!_"

The Romanian threw up a shield to protect himself from the powerful bolt of electricity. Too late did he realize it wasn't aimed at him but rather the water at his feet. He tried to jump, to escape the powerful energy sweeping underneath him. However, he wasn't able to and found himself being thrown backwards.

Harry watched as Pirvu tumbled off the platform, wisp of smoke coming from his body. The wards flashed blue and then red, signifying that not only had Harry knocked his opponent of the platform, he had also knocked him out.

"That's win number three for Harry Potter! Time of match nine minutes and forty-five seconds. One of the most creative ways to defeat an opponent I've seen in several years! The youngest competitor this year is continuing to impress. This one will most likely be closer but I believe Potter was the better dueler."

Cheers went up throughout the stadium, United Kingdom flags being waved in the air. Harry gazed around at the crowd and noticed, to his shock, that not only were there several shirts with his face on it but several young kids and even a few adults, had fake lightning bolt scars on their foreheads.

He walked off the platform and this time went straight to the healer waiting on the side. It was the same one from last time, though this time she wasn't glaring at him. She made him take off his dueling robes and shirt so she could get a better look at his shoulder.

"Very creative pup," Remus stated as he approached the teen.

"Thanks. Do you think I got that second point? Without it I don't think I'm advancing."

"You should get it,"

Harry didn't want to dwell on it. He still had a few minutes before the judges reached their decision. "Did you notice throughout the crowd..."

"You mean the people with the Harry Potter t-shirts and the Harry Potter scar?" Sirius asked, smirking.

"Yeah. The shirts are bearable I guess but the scars? Thats just weird."

Sirius and Remus both chuckled. "Look at the bright side, at least you know you have supporters amongst the United Kingdom population."

Harry nodded his head in agreement, hissing in pain as his injured shoulder was prodded rather harshly.

"I thought females were suppose to be gentle," Harry mumbled.

"What was that?" the healer asked, her wand digging into bruised flesh.

Harry's eyes widened in pain and he had to prevent himself from whimpering. "Nothing! Nothing!"

Sirius and Remus both laughed at the teen's misfortune. He glared at both of them, muttering about turncoat guardians.

"In an unanimous decision, the judges have decided that the better duelist this match was... Harry Potter! That gives Potter a score of five and Pirvu a score of 4!"

Sirius and Remus both pulled him into hugs, congratulating him on advancing to the next round. Harry grinned widely, proud with himself and happy that he had two people to be proud of him.

"Mr. Potter!"

Turning, Harry found himself facing one of the competition officials, who was holding a large hoop and a piece of parchment out toward him.

"This is the portkey that will bring you to Finland. You and all those you wish to bring with you must be holding it at ten tomorrow morning. Remember you are only allowed two advisors and only have three free tickets. Everyone else will have to pay for their own tickets. The parchment contains your schedule."

The official shoved the two items into Harry's hands before walking off. Harry glanced at his schedule and let out a light groan. His first opponent was Viktor Krum, his former Triwizard. His second opponent was Helen Joyce, widely considered the best the United Kingdom had to offer in the junior division. His final opponent was Fleur Delacour, his other former Triwizard competitor. All of them had gotten the full six points from the first round, three of the twenty-three people to do so.

He showed his schedule to Sirius and Remus. They winced at the names, knowing Harry was going up against formidable opponents again. Remus decided to let Harry know what he was up against.

"Fleur's dueling style involved charms and fire for her first three matches, based on what I saw. Charms is a specialty of Beauxbatons and fire comes natural for all those of veela blood. She's quick with a wand, faster then most anyone in this tournament. She didn't use her veela charm when versing male opponents but I don't know why, it would have made things easier."

Harry shook his head. "She wants people to respect her as a witch. Using her veela charms will just remind them that she is only half human. Its stupid in my opinion but its how she thinks right now."

Sirius looked at him with a raised eyebrow but Harry just shook his head. Remus cleared his throat, and decided to discuss his middle opponent.

"Sawicki uses obscured spells and will try to overwhelm you with a bunch of spells that probably won't be blocked by your average shield. A few of them she created her self and there are a lot that were recently created that she knows, some not even in books yet. Dumbledore has assisted her in her research last summer. He may have passed on the information to me when he found out you were entering the tournament and that you might possibly face her," Remus explained the last bit at Harry's questioning look.

Sirius decided to explain Krum. "A lot of Krum's spells are borderline, some are even considered mild Dark Arts. He's pretty good at transfiguration too but not near your level. He's more brute force then finesse and he's powerful. More powerful then the other two."

"He's smarter then you'd think. He'll try to pull some tactics on me."

"Its surprising how much you know about the two of them," Sirius stated. "Dumbledore didn't think you guys even talked much."

"Dumbledore doesn't know everything about Hogwarts, especially what goes on outside its walls. We were all competitors in a tournament that many people have died in. All four of us bonded over the course of the year."

The two nodded their heads, it did make sense. Sirius put his hand on Harry's shoulder and led him out of the area. "Let's get you back to your friends so you can go to the castle for the night."

He met his friends at the dueling stadium entrance, Sirius and Remus promising to meet him tomorrow at Hogwarts. Tomorrow he would be traveling to Finland, with Remus and Sirius in tow. Hopefully, Ron, Hermione and Parvati would be able to come as well, but that mostly depended on their parents.

"What's with the down faces?" he asked upon seeing them.

"There's been another attack."

Harry's eyes widened at Hermione's statement. "Who?"

"Lee Jordan," Ron muttered. "Fred and George found him an hour before we came down here to watch your match. He was in one of the secret passageways by the Charms corridor. He was still breathing, but barely."

"Merlin. How are Fred and George taking it?"

Ron shook his head. "Not good. They were threatening to go on a rampage throughout the Slytherin dorms."

Hermione looked at Parvati, who had moved to Harry's side, where she wrapped her hand around his waist as he did the same to her. "We told them everything we knew. They were pretty upset we kept the info from them but it still kept them from starting an all out war between Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Why didn't you tell me all about these junior Death Eaters?" Parvati asked, giving Harry a sideways glance.

"I didn't want you to get involved," Harry answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't," she said, agreeing. "And neither should you. Leave it to Dumbledore to figure out."

"I can't. Its not who I am."

She wanted to argue further but decided to leave it be for now. Instead she decided to change the topic to something else, though not anymore pleasant. "I can't go to Finland with you or Spain and Italy if you advance that far. My parents won't let me go to a foreign country with my boyfriend without them being around."

Harry's face fell at the news. He was hoping her parents wouldn't have minded. It would have been nice spending the time with her. He turned toward Ron and Hermione.

"I can go," Hermione answered. "To all three countries. I may have told my parents it was a school trip."

"And they just believed you?" Harry asked, kind of surprised Hermione lied to her parents.

"You'd be surprised how helpful and cunning Remus can be if you ask him. He went to my house, said he was a professor from school and told them all about the supposed trip. He even had fake Hogwarts papers, including a permission slip."

Harry smirked. No doubt the Marauders had used such things in the past. Making fake Hogwarts papers must be second nature to the werewolf now.

"It took a lot of begging but my mom is letting me go. It helped that I showed her my last few test and quizzes in Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures and Defense, all of which received EE or higher." Ron was proud at that last bit and Harry couldn't blame him. The redhead had gotten over his laziness and had started to actually study. While no where near as much as Harry or, Merlin forbid, Hermione, it was still enough for his grades to jump a few grades. "As long as I keep up with the work I'll be missing, she says its all good."

Harry turned to Neville, who stood to the side of the group. "I've got an extra ticket if you want Nev."

The Longbottom heir's eyes widened at the invitation. "Er...I'll have to ask Gran first."

"We'll floo her. I've got a portkey that is leaving tomorrow morning at ten and an owl will take to long."


	9. Finland and Spain

I am skipping the duels in this chapter. There would be six of them if I wrote them, but I'm having writing block on my duels so I decided to leave them out. In fact I'm probably just going to rush through this chapter just to get it done with it. Its really stumping me on how to make this chapter work, and I already started working on Chapters 10 and 11. Don't be put off if this chapter isn't as good as the others. This will, hopefully, be the only chapter that wasn't given all of my effort and attention.

Next chapter, however, I will write all the duels out in full. I've been complimented on my duels and so will try to make the ones described in the next chapter as epic as I possibly can.

Professional dueling in the wizarding world isn't so much as to prove who is a better dueler (thats what the duelist want but thats not what the dueling committee want) then it is to provide entertainment for the masses. If you want to draw a huge crowd you want to have two great duelist fighting it out on the platform. However, sometimes the weaker duelist wins do to luck or other circumstances. By awarding a point for winning and then a point for whoever is the better duelist, the committee is giving all those who can provide a spectacular display of magic a chance to advance, even if they get taken down by a lucky spell or some other unlucky way.

Chapter 9 Finland and Spain

Harry carefully lifted the arm off his chest. Going as slow as he could, he moved to the end of his bed and pulled on some boxers. He stood up, opening his curtains just enough to slip through. Glancing back before the curtains swung close again, he smiled at Parvati's sprawled out form. Last night had been, in short of any other words, amazing.

It had been both their first times. It started off sloppy and ended rather quickly, at least on his part. However, he had refused to let that be the end of it, especially since it didn't seem like Parvati had enjoyed herself much. So they had done it again, and this time Harry was able to last long enough to bring Parvati pleasure too.

The others started to climb out of their beds. He made sure his curtains were fully closed before he started to get ready. He told the others he'd be down in a second and as soon as they all left the room he wrote a quick note for Parvati and left it on his bedside table. He set his alarm to 7:45, to wake her and make sure she was gone before they returned from training.

Somehow word had spread about the morning training sessions. The morning of his first match in the dueling competition, when Harry and his dorm mates had walked into the common room, Fred, George, Katie, Alicia and Ginny's dorm mate Romilda Vane, a girl he only knew in passing, were waiting for him as well. Then when they had walked down to the Entrance Hall Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, Cho Chang and Eddie Carmichael, Cho's year-mate, all from Ravenclaw were also crowded around the front doors. Not to mention Kyle Summers, a sixth year Hufflepuff and apparently Wayne's best friend.

"I don't get it," Harry had muttered to Hermione that morning. "Somehow I went from this being just me, to adding you, Ron and Neville, to then having to train eleven people and now it looks like I'll be training twenty-four people."

Today would be the last time until after break that Harry would be leading these sessions. Even if he didn't advance to the third round, he'd be back from Finland on the sixteenth, in the afternoon. Winter break started on the sixteenth and lasted until the fifth of January. The three people who could probably take over for him without a problem, he was taking with him to Finland. That meant he could either pick a leader, or let the group figure it out.

Ron, Hermione and Neville had been doing this for six weeks. Seamus, Dean, Ginny, Wayne, Susan, Justin, Hannah and Megan had been doing it for two and a half weeks. The rest had only been at it for a week. With the only people who had been doing this for six weeks going with him, that didn't leave him many options for leadership while he was gone.

The Gryffindors walked into the Entrance Hall, where the members from the other two houses were already waiting for them. Before they walked outside, Harry decided to solve the problem now.

"Before we get started I thought we'd solve a little problem first. I'm leaving to go to Finland later today for the second round. I'll be gone for the rest of the week and so will Ron, Hermione and Neville. So someone is going to have to make sure these training sessions run smoothly while I'm gone, if you guys want to continue this without me." A chorus of "of course" and "yeah" went up throughout the group. "Good. I'm going to put Susan in charge while I'm gone since she seems to pick up the spells easily and has the physical stuff down pat."

Susan blushed under his gaze but nodded her head, accepting her new position. He could see that everyone seemed to agree with the decision, though Ginny looked mildly upset he didn't name her.

"Now, break starts the sixteenth and last for about three weeks. Its up to you guys to continue this on your own. I want to try adding more stuff into it when we get back, so don't slack off."

The large group made their way out of the front doors, and Harry walked with Susan. "I'll teach you some spells today that you can show the others throughout the week."

"Thanks Harry. It means a lot that you put me in charge."

* * *

"Look at this!" Hermione said, waving a copy of Witch's Weekly in the air. "Rita Skeeter wrote an article about what she thinks happened during the third task! I told her not to write anything for a year and she did!"

Parvati grabbed the article out of Hermione's hand and scanned it. She decided to read one part aloud. "He paused in his story, burying his face in his hands. The memory too painful for him to continue and just when I thought he wasn't going to carry on, he straightened up and started where he left off." Putting the paper down she looked at the group. "She writes it like you told her the story!"

"I did. Everything she writes is true," Harry admitted. "And you can't blackmail her anymore. She registered."

"You didn't even tell us!" Hermione was scandalized at the idea that Harry would tell Rita Skeeter, and the world, what happened in the graveyard before he would tell his best friends.

"I'm not good with emotions Hermione. I don't cry, I don't rely on people to help me when I'm sad or angry and I don't get overly emotional."

"But why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Its how I was raised."

Harry didn't speak of his life at the Dursleys. All Hermione knew was what Ron told her about the summer before their second year, the rubbish clothes he use to wear and the fact that besides this summer, every time he came back to school he was skinnier then when he left. The signs pointed to a rather poor life with the Dursleys. Rumors circulated about abuse but no one was brave enough to approach the Boy-Who-Lived on the subject.

"Still Harry, you could have told us. To think that one of the first people you told was Rita Skeeter!"

"Hermione, I watched Cedric die. Have you ever stared into someone's eyes as their murdered? As their life is taken from them way before their time,? It's something I pray no one ever has to go through but unfortunately it happens. I didn't want to talk about it with you because I knew you'd get emotional and that would cause my emotions to act up and the last thing I need is to break down."

Ron decided to interrupt the conversation, before Hermione pushed it too far. "Story seems to be getting around quickly. Didn't know many people read Witch's Weekly."

"Its not just Witch's Weekly. Rita told me she sold the story to newspapers in most European, North American and South American countries. Plus a few international papers and several magazines in the United Kingdom; Witch's Weekly, the Quibbler and Defense Society Weekly." Harry glanced down at his watch. "Shit its almost nine. We gotta go grab our stuff and meet Remus and S...Orion by the gates."

Ron started shoveling food in his mouth quickly while Hermione and Neville stood. Harry looked at Ron with a mixture of disgust and wonder as his friend shoved in more food then Harry thought possible.

"That's," he paused, tilting his head, "that's just wrong." The Boy-Who-Lived, turned from his friend, leaned over and kissed his girlfriend on the lips. "I'll write to you."

"You better," she replied, a sad smile on her face.

"Only twelve days babe!" Harry stated, jumping from his seat.

She chuckled as he yanked Ron from his seat, the redheads fork and a bunch of food falling to the ground. "That's if you advance!"

"Orion's got me convinced I'm winning this thing!" Harry exclaimed, dragging a reluctant Ron behind him. "Hear it enough times you start believing it!"

* * *

**Finland**

The end of the Triwizard tournament had been hectic. The day after the third task, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang left the school, while Harry was still in the hospital wing. He hadn't been able to say his goodbyes to Fleur and Viktor, who he had gotten to know during the tournament and formed a camaraderie with. After the first task Viktor had been interested in his flying abilities, and his best friend. After the second task Fleur had been grateful for him saving his sister and they had found something in common for people judging them based one who, or in Fleur's case what, they were.

That was why Harry wasn't that surprised when he walked into his hotel room (Tampere had a large wizarding section, complete with two hotels, one of which had been books by the dueling competition to house the competitors) and saw Viktor and Fleur waiting for him. Fleur swept him into a hug and when he was released, he shook hands with Viktor.

"Harry, its good to see you again," Viktor greeted.

"You're speaking perfect English," Harry said, a little surprised.

Fleur shook her head. "No he is speaking Bulgarian and I am speaking French. There are translation charms all over this hotel and the dueling stadium. No matter what language one of us speaks its translated to a language the recipient understands."

"Well that makes sense."

"We read the article," Viktor stated solemnly.

"Yes, its good to have closure of Cedric."

"Thank you for not mentioning what curse I used on Cedric and Fleur while under the Imperius. While some people would have understood that my mind wasn't my own when I cast it, I don't think others would be quite as understanding."

Viktor was referring to his use of the Cruciatus Curse, which he cast while under Barty Crouch Jr's influence. It was one of the few things Harry had kept to himself. He could tell Viktor was still upset about it.

Fleur patted Viktor on the arm. "I already forgave you. I'm sure Cedric would have too." She turned to Harry. "It must have been hard telling that again, especially knowing thousands were going to be reading your story."

"It's something that needed to be put out there. The wizarding world of the United Kingdom is being led by a blind man, who refuses to take off his blindfold and stare at the sights in front of him. His refusal to accept Voldemort as being back is allowing Voldemort to work without interruption in the shadows as he gathers an army and implants spies in the Ministry."

"You'll make a great leader for this war Harry," Fleur said, almost proudly.

"Maybe. I'll be happy to do whatever I can to fight Voldemort. I guess you can say I'm doing something already by training the next generation that's going to be forced into this battle."

"Your army?" Viktor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry looked startled at that, not even thinking of them as an army. "No."

Fleur and Viktor shared a look over Harry's head.

"We came here to make sure there is no holding back when we duel. Fleur and I aren't versing each other but we are dueling you."

Harry looked at the two of them as if they were crazy. "Of course not. Just like the tournament, may the best win."

They shook hands before Viktor asked a question he had been dying to ask since Harry entered the room.

"How is Hermione?"

"She's good. Actually she's here if you want to see her."

* * *

Harry sat quietly, going over the things Hermione had shown him. The professors had all given them plenty of work to complete for the week they'd be gone, to go along with all essays they'd have to write over vacation. They had decided to complete all of the missing week's work first, so they could enjoy the rest of the trip in Finland, and hopefully Spain and Italy. Hermione had finished first and had started to give pointers to Ron and Neville. Harry had finished next, and had pulled out a book on Runes to study while the others worked.

Occasionally Hermione would come over and help him go over several runes. He had explained to her the Potters apparent affinity to the art. There were a lot of Ward Creators and Curse Breakers in the Potter family line. She was helping him see if he had an affinity for it too.

"So this rune," Harry pointed to a symbol, "combined with this rune," he pointed to a different symbol "will cause the ground to erupt in a hail of fire?"

Hermione looked up from the book she was reading, and upon observing what he was pointing at, nodded her head. "According to the book a large crack will appear in the ground and an explosion of fire will erupt from the crack."

"Sweet."

"Runes are dangerous if not used properly Harry, remember that."

"Yeah, yeah." Harry scribbled something on his parchment. "Did Viktor come by to see you?"

His bushy-haired friend blushed at the question and hid her face back behind her book. "Yes. He wanted to see how I was doing and if I was willing to continue our relationship. I told him I had a boyfriend."

Harry chuckled. "Why would you lie to him? You could have just said no."

"I'm not lying!" Hermione's voice was indignant. "While you were off training for this dueling competition I have gotten to know Justin very well."

"Finch-Fletchley?" Harry sputtered.

"Yes Finch-Fletchley. Why do you seem so surprised? I thought after the Yule Ball you would have realized I'm a girl." Her eyes glared at him from over the book.

The green-eyed teen raised his hands defensively. "I know your a female Hermione, unlike Ron I knew longer then the Yule Ball, probably when we rode Buckbeak to rescue Sirius and you were pressed so tightly against my back."

"Harry!"

He smirked at his friend's flustered shriek. "I guess even after the whole Viktor business I thought you were too serious to have a boyfriend."

"I do care about schoolwork and laws, unlike some people," she shot him a look, "but that doesn't mean I don't like to have a good time."

"I know Mione, I know. I'm sorry for thinking that. I'll have to threaten him against hurting you when we get back."

Hermione lowered her book quickly. "You will do no such thing Harry Potter!"

"Too late, minds made up. Anyway I got invited to dinner with Viktor, Fleur and some of the other duelist. Do you want to come?"

"No, I don't want it to be awkward around Viktor."

"You think it would be awkward for you? Two days ago I beat him in a duel in less then a minute, using nothing but brute strength to overcome his brute strength. Tell me that's not going to be awkward."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the same time she nodded her agreement with his last statement. "Still, it isn't the same as rejecting his views of affection for you."

"Touche. Do you know where the others are?"

"Sirius came in all giddy about the free ice cream being offered to all duelist and there guest. Him and Ron left fifteen minutes ago and will probably be back with stomach-aches and headaches in a few moments. Remus took Neville to some Herbology museum over an hour ago."

Harry stood, stretching his arms over his head. "Alright, I'll see you later then. Let Sirius and Remus know where I am if they come back"

* * *

Harry sat at a large round table with five other duelist besides Fleur and Viktor, who he was sitting between. He felt a little weird at first, sitting amongst the older duelist, all of who had graduated and had jobs already. However, they were nice enough and, since translation charms had been layered heavily over their section of the restaurant, conversation flowed easily around the table.

Michael Patterson, 21, was another duelist from the United Kingdom, Scottish descent to be specific. He was a curse breaker for Gringotts, where he was good friends with Bill Weasley, who he had apprenticed under for two years and had gotten to know Fleur, who was Bill's newest apprentice. Michael was of average height and stocky, with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail at the base of his neck. Brown eyes sat beneath a wide forehead and a protruding brow. What Michael may have lacked in looks, he made up in his personality.

Dmitri Branko, 19, was a Hungarian Auror, though they were called Hunters in the other country. He and Viktor had gone to Durmstrang together, he had been at Hogwarts for the Triwizard tournament. He was a tall broad-shouldered bloke with dark gray eyes. His head was shaved, his cheekbones were high and he had a wide, easy going smile. He was much more easy going and laid back then most Durmstrang students seemed to be.

Pascal Garcon, 21, was the newest member on the French Minister of Magic's security team. His family was friends with Fleur's, which was how they knew each other. He was of average height and weight but he carried himself with a grace Harry could only hope to achieve. Dirty blond hair, feathered and looking professionally done, sat atop his. His eyes were a light blue, his face angular and his attitude charming.

Idalia Ortega, 18, was a Spanish pureblood heiress whose father refused to let her work but allowed her to duel in her spare time. Fleur and her were acquainted through their fathers, who were both high up in their respective governments. She was your typical Spanish beauty, with thick black hair, darkly tanned skin and wide brown eyes. She had a small upturned nose, and pouty lips that spoke in a haughty tone that hid her friendly demeanor.

Thyra Nyhus, 20, was a Danish magizoologist at an animal reserve in the Ardennes Forest who cared for the more dangerous creatures, like manticores. She and Viktor had become friends over the first week of the competition. She had short strawberry-blond hair that barely fell pass her chin. She had pixie like features; small button nose, high cheek bones, sparkling blue eyes and small lips. Her looks fit her bubbly personality.

"I turn around and there's Bill being half strangled, half hugged by this child-sized mummy!"

The table laughed as Michael finished his humorous story about a trip him and Billy Weasley had taken into a pyramid last summer. Everyone was just finishing up their meal, leaning back as they settled their filled stomachs.

"So Harry, I've heard the rumors and I've read the article. What do you do now that You-Know-Who is back?" Thyra asked.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Prepare myself I guess. He's already marked me for death."

"Ah yes, You-Know-Who coming back, terrible news. Even worse that your government is denying it. The French Ministry, even though they haven't picked a side in the argument, has stepped up the recruitment of Aurors. Better to be safe then sorry our Minister says."

"If only our Minister was half as competent as yours," Harry mumbled at Pascal's statement.

"I'll probably join the fighting in a year or two, if this thing escalates." Dmitri looked at everyone gathered around the table, as if trying to prove something. "I'm to be married in a few months and I would like to spend some time with my new wife, maybe even have a child, before putting myself at risk. But I will definitely fight. Imagine being the one to bring down You-Know-Who once and for all? The glory one could receive?"

"Glory?" Fleur asked.

"Its why I duel and it will be why I fight in this British war," Dmitri explained, shrugging his shoulders.

Fleur looked scandalized at the answer. "Why not fight because it is right? Because what He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named stands for is wrong?"

The Hungarian just shrugged his shoulders. "While I do think what You-Know-Who stands for is wrong, its not why I'd fight. That's not what motivates me. I'm sorry if I think differently then you."

Viktor decided to stop the conversation from getting to heated or personal. "It's fine. Everyone is different."

"Well I know he is back. Father has been contacted by Lucius Malfoy on several occasions recently. Malfoy is trying to convince my father to join a cause that will help bring glory to the purebloods, which can really only mean one thing." Everyone at the table shared significant looks at Idalia's words. "My father is resistant of course. His younger sister, my aunt, is a squib and is married to a muggle. My father is very fond and protective of her and I doubt he'd join a cause that would bring harm to her."

"Some of the darker and more dangerous creatures have become restless at the reserve," Thyra said. "It happened sometime around May last year."

Viktor nodded his head. "The third task."

"Bill's told me all about it. Seems like his family is already involved in this." Michael turned toward Harry. "Aren't you friends with his younger brother?"

"Yeah, Ron. He's actually here to root me on."

Michael shifted in his seat, leaning in closer to the table, as if to shre a secret. "I remember visiting the Weasleys for dinner in the summer two years ago. Ron kept going on about you fighting a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Kids got quite the imagination."

The Boy-Who-Lived scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "He wasn't lying."

"You fought a basilisk?" Idalia asked.

"You actually saw one? What was it like?" Thyra demanded.

Harry told them the story of his second year, starting from the Halloween night the messages of Slytherin's heir first appeared on the wall and ending with flying up through the pipes while holding on to Fawkes' tail. Thyra moaned at the fact that he had killed a thousand year old basilisk, while the others were impressed with his story.

"Did you harvest it?" Pascal asked after the praise had died down.

Harry blinked, unsure of what the older French teen meant. "Harvest it?"

"Harry," Viktor started, "basilisk are extremely rare. Everything about them is worth hundreds of galleons at least."

* * *

**Spain**

Harry stopped as he approached his room, noticing, to his pleasant surprise, the figure standing outside his doorway.

"Parvati!"

His girlfriend's head lifted up as he neared her. She smiled widely at him, running into his open arms. He lifted her off the ground, mindful of the bag he had over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, his face buried in her chest.

"I convinced my parents to come to Spain for the third round. I wanted to see you advance to the finals."

He placed her on the ground, smiling as he readjusted the strap on his shoulder. "That's great."

"How have you been so far? In your letters you said you made friends with some of the other duelist."

"I've been pretty good. Fleur and Viktor introduced me to five other duelist. I've gotten to know them and they seem like a great bunch."

Harry walked to the door of his room and opened it. It was a modest size room with a queen size bed, a dresser, two chairs, a bedside table and a door leading to a bathroom. Throwing his bag onto his bed, he turned toward Parvati.

"Do you have any plans right now?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"My first duel is in two hours." Harry breathed out as she lay a kiss on the side of his neck. "I was going to meditate and shower before heading down early to warm-up."

"Why don't we do something better then meditating?" she asked, pulling away from him.

Harry looked at her in confusion. "What's better then meditating before a duel?" Parvati started to lift her shirt over her head. "Oh. Oh!"

* * *

"Where's Remus?" Harry asked as the teens entered the room.

Sirius looked at them, as if debating whether or not to tell them what he knew. "Fenrir Greyback attacked last night. Bit two recent Hogwarts graduates and killed another. Dumbledore managed to get to them before the Ministry did, because he knows how horrible the Ministry treats new werewolves. He wanted Remus to help them with the adjustments, and try to convince them to stay on our side."

"That horrible!" Hermione gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth.

"Is there anything I can do?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head, mindful that Neville and Parvati weren't Order members and believed him to be a friend of Remus' named Orion. Dumbledore had asked if they could use a property that belonged to the Potters, to hold Order meetings and house the two new werewolves if they decided to join. However, he would wait until they were alone before asking.

"No, there's nothing you need to do."

"You know, if you and Remus wanted, I would gladly help you hunt Greyback down."

Sirius smiled; just like James. "We know Harry, and Remus appreciates the sentiment but you're too young."

Parvati sniffed at their conversation. "You should just let it be."

Harry pinned her with a hard gaze. "Parvati I'm involved in this war whether you like it or not."

The others in the room looked at each other with wide eyes. Slowly, they made their way out of the room as the couple started their fight.

"You don't have to be Harry," she started, looking at him with pleading eyes. "For the love of Merlin let someone deal with all of this."

"He killed my parents!" he yelled, startling the dark skinned girl. "Listen Parvati, this is my war and if I'm going to go out with someone they can't want to run from it."

"What are you saying Harry? Are you saying we shouldn't be together anymore?"

The green-eyed teen turned away from his girlfriend, unable to stand the sight of tears in her eyes. "You don't want to be involved in this war and that is fine, hell that is great, but I am involved. It seems like our lives are going in to separate directions right now. As much as I don't want to say it, I think we should break up."

He glanced at her, to see her horrified look. "How could you say that?"

"Because I'm going after him. Him and anyone who willingly calls him master. I know you won't be able to handle that. Maybe some day you will be but not right now. Besides with us going breaking up you can avoid this war all together. That is what you want after all." The last part was said bitterly as he turned toward her with eyes filled with hurt and anger.

She started to pound on his chest with closed fist, crying at his words. He let her, not even flinching as her blows start to cause a dull throb of pain. After a while she tired herself out, her fist moving slower and, striking with less and less impact. Harry pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his shirt. They stay like that for a few minutes before Parvati gathered herself and pushed away from her now ex-boyfriend. She gave him one last look before she left the room


	10. Duels and Prophecies

The duels in Finland and Spain were skipped. I didn't write about them because I was finding it difficult to write so many original duels. The duels written about in this chapter are the duels that are to be taking place in Italy.

And Harry breaking up with Parvati over her not wanting to get involved with things in the war was alluded to in an earlier chapter. When Parvati finds out Harry knows so much about the Junior Death Eaters in Hogwarts, and what he's trying to do to stop them, she tells him he shouldn't be involved in it.

Chapter 10 Duels and Prophecies

"Welcome to our first quarter-final match up that pits the United Kingdom's Harry Potter and Estonia's Triska Rebane. Harry Potter enters this round going undefeated but acquiring only sixteen out of the possible eighteen points. Triska Rebane enters this round having lost one match-up, as she has also acquired sixteen out of a possible eighteen points."

Harry stood on his end of the platform, taking in a deep breath. The crowd was going crazy around him. He was nervous and he could feel his palms starting to sweat. Across from him, Triska didn't seem to be fazed by any of it and if she was fazed, she was damn good at hiding it.

"Duelers, bow to each other!"

Harry bowed low, watching as his opponent did the same.

"You may begin on the count of three. One...two...three!"

Harry twisted his wand, a spiraling jet of blue magic flying from its tip. He side stepped Triska's first spell and watched as his own was blocked with a dazzling shield of gold. His arm sliced through the air as dozens of yellow bullets of energy shot toward his opponent. They peppered the golden shield, letting out small 'dings' as they tried to overwhelm the protective magic with numbers rather then power.

The Estonian's shield exploded outward, flying in jagged pieces of magic at Harry. The teen jammed his wand into the ground, a wave of energy spreading outward from his position. His attack dissolved the shards of defensive magic in mid-air, and continued across the platform. Rebane threw up a glittering purple shield, his magic slamming into it with a low rumble.

Triska dispelled her shield, shooting a handful of bone breakers at Harry. He barely managed to bat the first one away and had to dive backwards to avoid the others. While he fell, he launched his own powerful piercing hexes. His spells were all blocked with relative ease. Rebane lashed out with a whip of magic. Ducking underneath the flailing strand of energy the Boy-Who-Lived swished his wand upward, launching a sickle of crackling red light at his opponent. Triska jabbed her wand at the sickle of magic, cutting it in half and sent both parts careening away from her.

She conjured a coyote that ran forward as Harry blocked a trio of spells aimed at his knees. The coyote launched itself at him, going high towards his face. The green-eyed male's hand shot out and grabbed the beast by its throat, stopping it in mid-leap. He tossed the canine into the path of an incoming spell, ignoring the blood that splattered across his torso.

Harry sliced his wand through the air, connecting with another incoming spell and shattering it into a shower of glittering sparks. He continued through with the movement by weaving his wand into a complicated pattern. A blast of raw magic shot out of his wand like a cannon, racing across the platform. The Estonian had to dive out of the way, the power of the energy scorching her dueling robe. His magic slammed into the wards of the platform, where they lit up and flickered unsteadily for a moment before returning to their invisible state.

As she got to her feet Triska launched two spiraling jets of azure light. Harry batted one away and caught the other one with the tip of his wand. He flung the curse back at his opponent, adding a little bit of his own power into the spell. It shattered through her shield, catching her in the side and blowing away a chunk of flesh.

His opponent staggered back, her left hand flying to the hole in her side. Her wand cut through the air, as she tried to force Harry on the defensive by overwhelming him with spells. The British duelist threw himself to the side, avoiding her initial barrage. As he fell a dart of yellow magic shot out of his wand and collided with one of Triska's spell. The two spells reacted violently together, exploding in a powerful blast of magical energy. Rebane was thrown backwards, where she slammed into the wards before falling to the ground. Harry, who was already on the floor, skidded across the platform and, despite his flailing, slid right off the edge.

Silence filled the arena as both duelist fell off the platform at almost the same time. As both duelist climbed to their feet, Triska more slowly, they looked expectantly at the referee. The ref glanced at the judges table, where the person in charge of the ward-stone sat. With some prodding from a wand, the ward-stone lit up and the wards became illuminated. Harry's side flashed gold and Triska's side flashed black.

Harry had no idea what that meant, but judging by the disappointed look on his opponent's face, it seemed that Harry had won. He pumped his fist in the air and gave a yell of triumph. He watched as the Estonian was quickly accosted by a healer and then brought out of the arena. He warily fell to his knees before leaning back until he was sitting on his ass. His healer, the same healer he dealt with the entire tournament, quickly approached his side, kneeling down next to him. Sirius and Remus appeared at his side an instant later, ecstatic at the teen's victory.

* * *

"The winner of tonights match-up faces off against Belgium Andre Peeters tomorrow night. This semi-final match-up is a good one if I do say so myself. Last years winner, Italy's very own DeAngelo Benedetto against the United Kingdom's famed Harry Potter! Both opponents are undefeated, though Potter only has eighteen out of twenty points, compared to Benedetto's perfect twenty for twenty. Looks like the referee is ready to start this one off!"

"Duelers, bow to each other!"

Harry bowed low, his throat going dry.

"You may begin on the count of three. One...two...three!"

Benedetto started off with a sparkling jet of pink light that slammed into Harry's conjured shield. The spell let out a loud 'bang' upon impact and exploded in a brilliant shower of sparks. The crowd cheered loudly at the action, and Harry's eyebrows furrowed together. The spell DeAngelo had used was a rather weak explosion hex, it was mostly used as a distraction in battle. It appeared the Italian was showing off for the crowd, keeping up his image as crowd favorite.

The Boy-Who-Lived slashed his wand, the lance of white magic deflected into the ground, where it exploded in a wave of energy and a cloud of splinters. Grasping his wand with both hands, Harry released a blast of magic, his wand buckling under the power. His powerful magic was dodged, slamming against the wards with the sound of thunder.

DeAngelo waved his wand, shooting a jet of water like a fire hose. Harry twirled his own wand in a circle above his head, redirecting the water to flow in a cyclone above his body. Upon realizing that he was only helping the teen, the Italian wizard stopped his water attack, leaving Harry with a large cyclone of water above his head.

Benedetto launched a barrage of powerful bludgeoners, hoping to make Harry drop the water on himself as he was forced to shield. Instead, Harry made the cyclone of water form a dome around his body. The spells slammed into the watery shield, where pillars of steam rose into the air. A whip of lightning shot forward, slamming into the liquid dome and making energy crackle across its surface.

Harry jabbed his wand in front of him, his dome of water shooting at DeAngelo like a tidal wave. It crashed down over his opponent, churning across the platform before flowing off the sides. The older fighter stood in the same spot, bone dry but panting from the effort of keeping himself so. With a flick of his wrist, Benedetto launched a crackling jet of teal energy.

Harry jumped up, using the tip of his wand to push the path of the spell downwards, underneath his elevated legs. He landed in a crouch, another spell passing inches over his head. He sprung forward, parrying a curse before it even left his opponents wand. Twirling out of the way of another spell, Harry launched a powerful cutter. His spell was deflected into the ground, where it gouged out a large swath in the wood of the platform.

He took another few steps forward, parrying a curse as his opponent took a few steps backwards. Diving underneath a thin jet of magic, he conjured a circle of protective magic and used it as cover as he moved forward. He pushed Benedetto almost to the edge of the platform before the older wizard realized he had no where to go and decided to step into Harry. A powerful curse shattered the fifth year's shield and caused the green-eyed teen to stumble backwards some.

His opponent raised his arm, but Harry stepped forward and blocked his opponents arm into the air, the curse grazing his temple. He jabbed his wand into Benedetto's stomach but found his arm elbowed out of the way, his spell leaving a pockmark in the platform. Grabbing the Italian's wand arm, he twisted it away from his torso. His own wand warm was being blocked by a very persistent forearm that pressed into the nook of his elbow joint. Sparks shot out of the end of both of their wands, as they battled for supremacy.

The Boy-Who-Lived pulled his head back and head butted the older wizard in the nose. DeAngelo stumbled backwards, his hand flying to his nose. However, his wand had shot up and he launched a spell right at Harry. Not able to capitalize on his opportunity, the green-eyed teen was forced to roll backwards, underneath the jet of light.

Harry twirled his wand, the wood of the platform ripped from its holding and forming a wall in front of him. Weaving his wand in the air, he put all his concentration into conjuring an animal out of thin air. His wall absorbed a handful of curses before exploding in a shower of wooden splinters and fire. He banished the debris at DeAngelo, and set his animal in motion.

The hippogriff jumped into the air and took flight with a few flaps of its powerful wings. DeAngelo had a second to gape at the magical animal before he was forced to dodge a few curses Harry sent his way. The hippogriff dove down, causing DeAngelo to dive away from the sharp talons that slashed at his head. Benedetto shot a spell at the half-horse's retreating form, but Harry hit the Italian's jet of magic with one of his own, altering the flight path and showing off the Boy-Who-Lived's amazing accuracy.

As the magical beast turned around for another attack, Harry jabbed his wand forward letting loose a pink spear of magic. His spell was stopped with a glittering shield, where it burst into a shower of sparks. He used his mind-link over the hippogriff, something one generally does when they conjure or transfigure an animal is set up a mind-link over it, and ordered it to just use its body to knock Benedetto down.

The Italian managed to catch the flying animal with a severing charm in its wings, cutting them both off and sending the hippogriff tumbling out of the air. Harry hit it with an explosion hex, making its body detonate in a spray of blood and flesh. DeAngelo was able to shield his eyes in time, but found himself covered in the red liquid and chunks of meat.

"_Ampeto!_"

Harry's blasting curse was knocked to the side with a casual wave of his opponent's wand. DeAngelo returned fire with a sickle of purple magic. The green-eyed wizard flicked his wand downward, making the sickle of magic flying at him collapse in on itself and implode with a slight 'pft.'

The tip of the holly wand started to glow a fiery orange as it traced a rune in the air. Harry was forced to dodge a barrage of spells, as he tried to draw a pair of runes in the air in front of him. It was almost two minutes of dodging and quick wandless shields with his left hand, before Harry was able to put the finishing touches on his runes. Using his wand, he channeled his power into the two symbols.

A bludgeoner caught him right in the sternum, admitting several horrible 'cracks' from his torso. Harry activated the runes before collapsing backwards in pain. His left hand circled around his chest protectively as a large cracked formed in the platform. While the Boy-Who-Lived struggled to cast a numbing charm on the searing pain in his ribs, the crack in the ground started to glow brightly before erupting in a hail of fire.

Benedetto had tried to protect himself from the explosion, but the force of the blast shattered his shield and threw him like a rag doll into the air. With a heavy thud and a moan of pain, the Italian landed heavily on the ground. Harry struggled to his feet, and with a little effort, managed to cast a stunner that hit DeAngelo. The wards flashed red and as the crowd went crazy, Harry allowed himself to collapse to the platform in pain.

* * *

Andre Peeters wasn't as powerful as Viktor Krum. He wasn't as fast with a wand as Fleur Delacour. He wasn't as skilled in Transfiguration as Harry himself, he didn't know runes as well as Lidia Sawicki and he didn't know the amount of spells Helen Joyce did. However, that didn't mean he wasn't creative, agile, powerful in his own right, very knowledgeable in several branches of magic and faster with a wand than Harry.

"_Reducto!" _

Harry's blasting curse was blocked with a quick shield that shattered upon impact. Twirling around the return fire, he launched a cannonball out of his wand, the ball of metal shooting forward at an incredible pace. A fiery whip cut through the air, slicing the cannonball into two halves that immediately fell to the ground.

The-Boy-Who-Lived dodged underneath as the fiery whip cracked over his head. He hit the two separate pieces of metal laying on the floor with some transfiguration, turning them both into rottweilers that started to charge at his opponent. The strand of flames cut through the air twice, reducing both dogs into quivering masses of meat. The fire whip rocketed forward and flew right at Harry. Tapping his left hand with his wand, Harry grabbed the whip in his fist, not effected by the fire and yanked hard. Andre stumbled forward and was forced to cancel his whip as he had to defend from two curses aimed at his stomach.

Harry attempted to launch another curse, but Peeters was faster and launched four bludgeoners in Harry's general area. He conjured a powerful shield, deflecting all four curses in different directions. He managed to launch a silver beam of light outlined in gold, the force of the spell causing his wand to buckle. The Belgian conjured a large piece of marble to intercept the curse, which exploded in a dust of fine powder.

Dodging the return fire, Harry winced as his ribs, six of which had been cracked yesterday in his match against DeAngelo Benedetto, throbbed in pain. His healer had been able to mend them but they were still sore. He deflected another curse back at its caster, before launching his own piercing hex. Both spells were blocked with a dazzling shield of red.

Andrew waved his wand, a thick smoke pouring from the tip and blocking Harry's view of the other end of the platform. The green-eyed wizard sent various spells into the smoke, not sure if any were hitting or if they were even close to target. He waved his wand vanishing the smoke and, upon its clearing, saw that Peeters was putting the final touches on his fifth wolf. The five snarling canines looked at him for a second before they all took off, dashing down the platform.

Harry caught one of the wolves with a blasting hex that turned the front of its torso into a meaty pulp. He caught another two with a spray of acid before he was forced to shield against several spells. The fourth wolf he deflected a cutting curse into, not even noticing as its skull was split open. He twirled around some spell-fire and went to curse the final wolf. However, the wolf had moved in closer then he thought and was able to get underneath his extended wand arm. With a slight jump, the wolf's jaws clamped around his left shoulder, sending pain searing up and down the teen's arm.

Staggering backwards, he spun slightly on his foot and used the wolf clamped around his arm to intercept the curses headed his way. The jaws of the beast let up as the now mangled corpse tumbled to the ground. Clumsily side-stepping to his left, Harry dodged a curse and transfigured the mangled wolf carcasses that line the platform into large metal spears. He banished the spears at the Belgian, casting a barrage of spells as his opponent turned the metal spears into nothing.

Andre was forced to dive out of the way of Harry's wave of spells. Jabbing his wand into his injured shoulder, the Boy-Who-Lived had bandages fly from the piece of wood and wrap tightly around his wound. He cast a minor numbing charm on the area, just enough to make the pain manageable.

Harry ducked quickly, a fast flying spell shooting over his head. He flicked his wand, shattering a spell into a shower of sparks. A glowing orange jet of light shot out of the eleven inch piece of wood, rocketing toward Peeters. The older duelist redirected the orange energy into the ground, where it exploded in a bright flash.

Andre and Harry stared at each other, sizing each other up. Harry shifted his stance, wincing as the movement jostled his injured shoulder. He had never paused during a duel to simply try to get a judge of what his opponent might be planning. Always in movement and always thinking was the main thought process to his dueling style.

Deciding he had enough with the lapse in fighting, Harry jabbed his wand in front of him. A cone of purple magic swirled out of his wand, tearing up the wood of the platform as it raced forward. Peeters weaved a shield in front of himself, the cone of magic slamming against it before it disappeared with a loud 'crack.' Peeters launched a pair of cutters but Harry deflected both of them to the side before they even made it halfway down the platform.

The Boy-Who-Lived went to fling a curse at his opponent, but Andre beat him to it, shooting out a barrage of spells at Harry. The teen dodged the first few before he was forced to shield himself from the non-stop barrage. His protective magic withheld against almost a dozen spells before it shattered into nothingness and he was forced to throw himself out of the way of a sparkling blue jet of light.

He came up in a roll, blasting off a pair of blue lances of magic. His spells were ducked as an over-powered bone breaker shot his way. He attempted to shield but the spells broke through the defensive energy before it had properly formed up. As he tried to dodge, the spell caught him in the left leg and shattered his fibula and tibia. Harry fell to the ground, a scream of agony escaping his lips.

He struggled into a sitting position, and attempted to stand up but the minute he put even the smallest of pressure on his left leg, he collapsed back to the ground. The ref was asking him if he yielded, but he refused to answer. He shot a weak spell at Peeters, and painstakingly rolled out of the way of the stunner the Belgian shot at him. He tried to stand for a second time but was met with the same result. It was almost a relief when Andre Peeters hit him in the torso with a stunning spell, knocking him into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

"Congratulations are in order," Dumbledore stated as he approached the teen.

Harry looked up from his group of friends, a surprised smile making its way on his face. "Sir, shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"

He attempted to stand but found himself struggling to do so. His leg was still badly injured and had been wrapped up extensively. They had given him a cane to walk with for the next few days, until his bones could mend together and heal properly. It would have only taken the night to just vanishing the shattered bones all together and use Skele-gro to regrow them back in perfect condition, but Harry didn't want to deal with that again.

"You do not have to stand for me." Dumbledore assured the teen. "As for me being here, I wouldn't miss one of my students attempting to be crowned the dueling champion at this years European Junior Dueling Competition."

Harry let a small frown form on his face. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to win."

"That is true but second place out of almost two hundred individuals, most of whom have had several more years of schooling then you is quite impressive. Why next year, you should win this thing easily and the year after that you can probably win the adult competition."

The teen smile at the Headmaster, glad to be thought of so highly by one of the greatest duelist in recent history. He glanced around him and saw that his friends had moved away from the two of them, leaving them by themselves at the table.

Dumbledore looked about the room, before withdrawing his wand and waving it through the air. Harry felt the tingle of magic fill the air and looked at Professor Dumbledore in curiosity. He recognized some of the wand movements as those belonging to privacy wards.

"There is something I must tell you Harry. Something I should have told you long ago but have failed to, due to faults of mine. You see, I wanted you to enjoy your childhood and to grow up as normal as possible. In doing so I've neglected an important part of your life and the lives of the magical world."

Harry raised his eyebrows, wondering where this was all going. Dumbledore took the seat across from Harry and placed his hands on the table. As old, wrinkled fingers laced together, bright-blue eyes peered over half-moon glasses.

"In your first year, as you lay in a hospital bed after confronting Voldemort for the first time in ten years, you asked me why he chose to go after you. I evaded your question and I've proceeded to evade it for the pass four years. Now, however, it seems I have no choice but to tell you.

"A year before you were born I was interviewing Professor Trelawny for the then recently-vacant Divination post. I had met many frauds before her, and if she proved to be another I was going to drop the course from the syllabus altogether. In fact, I was only interviewing her because she was the great-granddaughter of a renown seer. It was quite obvious to me Sybil didn't know what she was talking about and I was getting ready to leave, her voice got really husky and she seemed to be in a trance. You should know, as you experienced this at the end of your third year, that she was giving a prophecy.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not."

"What..." Harry paused, trying to understand what was just told to him. "Does that apply to me?"

"Yes. You, along with Neville Longbottom, were born at the end of July, the seventh month, to parents who have thrice defied Voldemort. However, when Voldemort gave you that scar on your forehead, he marked you as his equal and made you the one of the prophecy."

"What does it mean?"

"If you take the prophecy as is, it predicts the birth of a child, you, who has the power to defeat the Dark Lord, Riddle. At a deeper level, I believe it means that you are the only one that will be able to kill him, not just that you are going to have the power to be able to."

Harry swallowed nervously and found his throat suddenly dry. That was a lot to tell someone, to put on someone. The only one to kill Voldemort?

"Are you sure?"

Dumbledore looked at his favorite student sadly. "I am almost positive. However, I wish to bring you to the Oracle at Delphi tomorrow, to confirm my suspicions."

"The Oracle at Delphi? Wasn't that part of Greek mythology?"

"Greek mythology in the muggle world is based upon real people and events in magical history. The Oracle at Delphi is a magical spirit that possesses females and gives them the power to see the future. It takes over the body of a suitable female at the age of twelve and stay in her body until the body can hold the spirit no longer, generally around the age of eighty. Then the body dies and the magical spirit finds a new host," Dumbledore explained.

"The Oracle will be able to tell me my future?" Harry asked.

"She won't be able to tell you your future because there are so many paths laid out in front of each of us and even she doesn't know exactly what path we will choose. However, she will be able to tell you where each path leads and she will be able to help you further interpret the prophecy, to find its hidden meanings."

The teen looked around, spotting the various people he knew dancing or having conversations with other people, all looking happy. Sirius, finally able to be out in public, even if it was with someone else's face, flirting with some woman. Ron and Hermione dancing, if somewhat awkwardly on the dance floor, laughing at something said between them. Neville talking with some aristocratic looking teens, most likely pureblood heirs. Fleur and Michael having a lively conversation over something, probably curse breaking. Viktor, dancing and having a conversation with Thyra, but shooting looks every so often at Hermione.

"Of course sir. Best to find out my fate now huh?"

The last part was said scornfully, the teen not liking the fact that such a fate had been decided for him before he was even born. Who puts the task of killing the most powerful Dark Lord in centuries on the shoulders of an unborn child?

"I'll pick you up at your room tomorrow morning at eleven. Sirius can bring your stuff to his house, where I'll drop you off after the meeting. Until then, enjoy your night."

Dumbledore stood and, waving his wand, dispelled the wards around the pair. Harry watched as his Headmaster started to leave.

"Sir, why did you decide to tell me this now? You've been hiding it from me my whole life but you said you can no longer hide it. Why?" the teen called out.

Dumbledore stopped and turned toward his pupil. "Voldemort knows the prophecy. He was told it minutes after it was recited to me by an eavesdropper who happened to be a Death Eater. He views you as his biggest threat to him. According to my spies he is trying to manipulate the connection between you two, the one that is marked by your scar, to send you visions. He is also contemplating hiring several prominent hitmen to capture you."

Harry gaped at Dumbledore as the old man turned and strolled out of the room. Turning back to his table, he picked up the goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him and wished he was old enough to drink firewhiskey. He glared into the orange drink in front of him, suddenly hating the slightly sweet drink.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and jumping slightly, looked up. The healer who had been taking care of him the entire tournament stood over him. She wasn't wearing her healers outfit, but rather dress robes, like everyone else in attendance. Without the serious look on her face and with a little bit of makeup she actually looked rather pretty, and younger than he first thought.

"I know you didn't win, but sitting here by yourself and being all moody seems a little unnecessary."

"After twelve duels where you patched me up afterwards you'd figure I would have gotten your name," Harry stated, trying to forget the prophecy he was just told.

"Its April," the healer introduced as she took the seat next to Harry.

"Well April, I can assure you I was not sulking over my losing in the final round. Others things have taken my attention."

"Would a walk take your mind off these other things?" April asked, touching his shoulder lightly.

"I hope you don't mind me asking your age..." Harry trailed off, knowing some females were testy about that kind of thing.

"I'm nineteen and yes I'm aware you are only fifteen, if thats what you were going to say next. I had to pull quite a few strings in order to get to be your healer throughout the tournament Harry. I've been an admirer of yours since I was a girl."

Harry felt his smile falter a little. Another fan who saw only the Boy-Who-Lived. Still, she was attractive and older, and if he was left to his own devices he'd probably wallow in the mess the prophecy had left his thoughts. A distraction would be nice.

"A walk would be great but I should warn you I'm a little hobbled right now. My ribs are still a little sore from my semi-final match, my left arm is still stiff from Peeter's wolf and I can't put much pressure on my left leg without collapsing."

She smiled at him as she grabbed his hand. "I was your healer Harry. I know your body quite well."


	11. Oracle of Delphi

Chapter 11 Oracle of Delphi

Harry allowed himself to be lead away from the crowded ballroom, filled with many of the duelist and their families. April, his healer from the competition, was leading him through the gardens that surrounded the small villa the dueling committee had rented out to hold the closing ceremonies. Several couples strolled through the gardens as well, admiring the beautiful array of flowers that lined the pathways.

"Did you always want to be a healer?" Harry asked, trying to get a conversation going.

April turned toward him, blinking a little owlishly. "Hmm?" She was distracted and seemed to be looking for something. "Oh, not always. I originally wanted to play Quidditch but I wasn't that good of a Chaser."

"You played? Did you go to Hogwarts?" Harry questioned as they strolled along.

"No. I went to a private school."

Harry was interested. He had never met anyone who didn't go to the main magical schools in Europe. "Really? Where was it located?"

She was leading him to a secluded part of the gardens, where no one seemed to be near. Harry felt the tingle of magic passing over his skin as they finally came to a stop in a dark corner. April turned toward him, a smile making its way onto her face.

His cane came flying up, knocking away her right arm as it snapped up. The spell that left her wand rocketed pass his torso. Harry reversed the movement of his cane and brought it up, slamming it into April's face. She stumbled back from him, her hand flying to her face as she cried out in pain. Her wand rose again, but Harry had his own wand in his hand quickly, parrying her curse.

The healer's eyes flickered to something behind Harry's back. Diving to his side, Harry came up rolling in a bed of flowers as a spell hit the ground he just occupied and his injured leg flared in excruciating pain. A masked man had entered into the fray, his wand raised high. They both shot spells that slammed into the glowing golden shield he conjured. Physically dodging had brought the pain in his leg up to unbearable levels and he was sure the black dots in his vision weren't a good sign.

April pulled her hand away from her face and Harry could see that he had dislocated her jaw. She let out a guttural roar, launching a wave of spells at Harry. They slammed into his gold shield, soon joined by a barrage from the masked man. His arm started to shake as his defensive magic shuddered under the onslaught.

Pushing power into this shield, it exploded outward in powerful wave of energy that swept out from his position in all directions. Both April and the masked man threw up shields as the sweeping magic scorched the ground black. However, April's shield wasn't strong enough and faded out of existence with a 'pop.' The healer was thrown from her feet under the force of the magic, where she slid to a halt along the stone pathway.

Turning his attention fully toward his last opponent, Harry deflected a curse into the ground in front of him. He shot out a piercer but found his spell blocked and return fire flying at him. His opponent was faster with a wand than he was and he didn't have the energy or mobility to keep up a duel. He blocked a handful of spells with a shimmering wall of defensive magic. This fight needed to end because there was no way he could last even five more minutes.

He gathered as much of his remaining power as he could and launched the raw power from his wand. The large beam of light rocketed forward, where the masked man dodged it. However, the amount of power radiating from the curse tore easily through the wards that had been set up around the area, tearing them down in a flash of bright light.

The Italian Hit Wizard who had been tasked with watching over the garden area saw the bright flash of light accompanied by much smaller flashes of light, usually the indication of spell fire. Calling for backup through his badge, he went to investigate the disturbance. What he saw was the second place winner, the United Kingdom's Boy-Who-Lived, dueling with some masked man. It took him only a second to decipher the scene before his wand had snapped up.

The red jet of light caught the masked man in his back, knocking the man unconscious and causing him to slump forward. The green-eyed wizard nodded at the Italian Hit Wizard in thanks before he slowly lower himself into a siting position. It was only a second later that the exhausted teen fell backwards in a dead faint.

* * *

Harry gasped in awe when they entered the building. They stood in long hallway with a white marble floor and a white marble ceiling. The walls on both sides were filled with colorful images of the Greek gods. Aphrodite, her beauty breathtaking even as a painting, lounging amongst some fauna in a purple toga that barely concealed her body. Hermes, wearing his winged-cap and winged-sandals, flew through the air. Apollo, a handsome man with delicate features, fighting a large dragon with bow and arrow. Artemis, a beautiful woman with delicate features, surrounding by deer with a bow and arrow in her hands. Hephaestus, wearing thick gloves and forging a sword in fire. Ares, dressed in full Greek armor, stabbing a man with his spear as countless other dead bodies lay at his feet, some being picked at by vultures. Athena, dressed in armor, was picking olives from an olive tree. Demeter, slightly plump but still pretty, walked amongst a field of wheat, trailing her hands over the top of the stalks. Hera, a stunningly beautiful woman, surrounded by pretty females and several peacocks. Dionysus, a large bellied man, held a large goblet as he sat amongst grape vines. Hades, clothed in black robes, sitting on a black throne with a Cerberus at his side. Poseidon rode on a hippocampi on the surface of the water, a trident raised above his head. Zeus, his hands cackling with electricity, sat on a white throne.

At the end of the enchanting hallway was a large door made of gold. The two wizards approached the doorway, Harry's eyes turning every which way so he could take in every image he passed. Dumbledore came to a stop in front of the doorway and held out his hand to stop Harry's movement since the teen was more concerned with staring at the beautiful art than watching where they were going.

"I can not go in with you Harry," Dumbledore stated, turning toward the much younger male. "This is something you must face on your own."

Harry nodded his head, pushing open the door in front of him and slipping into the room. It was a circular room, lined with pillars. Everything was made out of white marble and that made it a little disorienting to look upon. In the middle of the room was two chairs; one a red and gold throne chair and the other was a comfy looking armchair.

A middle-aged woman with a pale face, white hair and blind eyes stared at him from the throne.

"Hello Harry Potter, child of James Godric Potter and Lily Marie Evans Potter, descendant of Hades and Godric Gryffindor."

Harry looked at the Oracle in front of him in wonder. "I am a descendant of a Greek god?"

The Oracle chuckled. "They weren't gods. They were just powerful mages, well except Ares. He was a squib, the best combatant, who fought with goblin made weapons. They were powerful but humans. Nothing more, nothing less."

Harry's mind reeled as he took in all this new information. Even most witches and wizards viewed the Greek gods as extremely powerful beings, beyond humans, who did great and terrible things with their lives. However, it seemed that even magical history was filled with myths and tall-tales.

"Now, young one, why are you here?"

The teen blinked in surprise as he slowly limped forward and slid into the seat in front of him. "I thought you would know why..."

"I do but its much nicer to have conversations than just tell people what they want to know," the Oracle replied, waving her hand through the air.

"Oh. That makes sense." The Boy-Who-Lived scratched the back of his head, as he thought about why he was here. "There was a prophecy made about my birth, about the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord."

The Oracle interrupted his speech. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not."

"Yes. How do you know it?"

"My body holds the magical spirit of the Oracle, Diviner of All Prophecies. If a prophecy is given, it is because I wish it to be given."

Harry shifted forward in his seat, placing his elbows on his knees and rested his chin between closed fist. He was anxious to know more.

"Well Dumbledore doesn't think thats the end of the prophecy. He thinks there is more to it."

The Oracle held up her hand, halting him from continuing that topic. "What do you think young one?"

"I think it means I'm the only one that can kill Voldemort." He stopped, his eyes shifting to the far wall as he tried to think of the right thing to say. "That in the end its going to be me and him, even if it isn't mentioned in the prophecy its pretty much implied. And Voldemort seems to think so, and aren't most prophecies self fulfilling?"

"Yes and no. You see, you are the only one that can kill Voldemort right now. Yet he isn't the only one that can kill you. Voldemort can be driven from battle, wounded, mutilated, and even pushed to the brink of death but if you aren't around to deliver the fatal blow, he will find a way to escape, to live another day. You on the other hand are much more fragile. You can be killed by anyone and anything."

He wanted to protest at the unfairness of it. Voldemort could only be killed by one but that one could be killed by anyone? "But if I'm killed, does that mean he will never die?"

"I said you are the only one that can kill him right now. Another will be born, in the year 2006. If you are to be killed, Voldemort will basically be immortal until that year. And even then you must wait for the chosen child to grow."

"That's at least fifteen, twenty, maybe even twenty-five years!"

She looked at him, her blind eyes seeing more then his eyes ever could. "Now you see why you must not fail."

"How do I defeat him? What do I do?"

"I can not tell you that. There are thousands of paths you can follow. Most lead to your death but there are some that will lead you to victory. Though I should warn you because I know what Dumbledore will suggest. Hiding away to train until you're ready will more than likely not work. You must fight or you will fail."

He waited for her to say more but she turned from him. He knew a dismissal when he got one and so stood up. He walked out of the room, sparing one glance backwards. He found the Oracle staring at him as he left. Shaking his head, he didn't even notice as the doors closed the second he left the room.

"What did she say?" Dumbledore asked, turning from the painting he was studying.

"Only I can kill Voldemort," Harry muttered.

Dumbledore nodded his head, having assumed that conclusion already. "Is that it?"

"Anyone can kill me. She said that another chosen child will be born in 2006 but as of right now only I can kill him, while everyone can kill me."

The ancient wizard nodded his head before a thoughtful look came on his face. "Perhaps we should bring you somewhere to train..."

Harry shook his head wildly, his hair flying around. "She said I must fight or I will fail. That hiding away to train will not work. And to be honest, I don't think I could just sit on the sidelines while people die."

The Headmaster's eyes stared into Harry's for several seconds before he tilted his head in acknowledgment. "We'll need to increase your work load."

"I already train myself and others early in the morning. I've got classes, homework, Professor Bedeau wants me to tutor two students and I have Quidditch practice."

"You are already way beyond anything Kingsley can teach you in dueling." Dumbledore paused as he surveyed the teen in front of him. "What about giving up Quidditch?"

"Its one of the few joys I have. Plus our next game is two weeks from the start of the semester. It wouldn't be fair to the team if I quit now."

Harry knew it might be selfish of him to devote some of his time to something that had no bearing in this war; something that he did because it was fun and helped him relax. However, he didn't think he'd survive if the only thing he did was train. Dumbledore seemed to sense the same thing because he gave a slight nod of understanding.

"During your free periods and the periods you are suppose to have dueling, report to my office. I'll teach you some tricks I've learned over the years. I'll also see if Alastor can come and teach you some things."

Dumbledore began to walk down the hallway, toward the other doorway, the one that led outside. Harry hesitated before falling into step beside his headmaster. "No offense to Moody or anything sir, but what can Moody teach me that you can't?"

"Alastor is a soldier and a tactician, while I am merely a scholar. There are tons of things he can teach you about battles and the like that I myself barely grasp."

Harry thought the Headmaster was being too humble but nodded his head in agreement. He would need to know more than just spells and dueling stances to defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Than he could pass what he learned down to the others, making them better fighters in the process. Maybe if the light side started to get some competent people on their side they'd stand a better chance.

* * *

"Right, since you told me the prophecy, which I still can't believe that old goat didn't tell you about until the other night," Sirius cleared his throat at Harry's warning look, "I decided to teach you some things I learned as a Hit Wizard."

"I thought you were an Auror, like my dad?" Harry probed.

"No. I never had the patience to be an Auror. Let me explain," he started at Harry's questioning look. "Aurors are like muggle detectives. They investigate crime scenes, process evidence, stake out places, track criminals, interrogate suspects, question witnesses and other such things. Hit Wizards are like Special Firearms Officers (similar to S.W.A.T. for us Americans). Generally when dealing with the more dangerous criminals, like Death Eaters, the Ministry likes to send in the Hit Wizards if Aurors aren't already in pursuit."

"I always wanted to be an Auror but maybe a Hit Wizard is more my style. Can you give me any specifics of each one?"

Sirius scratched the side of his neck, trying to remember all he could about the three years of his Hit Wizard career before he was thrown in Azkaban. "Well Aurors work in pairs, while Hit Wizards work in teams of four. Aurors train in a variety of things such a stealth and tracking, concealment and disguise, forensics, and many other things, including dueling. Its why their training takes two years of boot camp and one year as an apprentice under a veteran. Hit Wizards are taught extensively in dueling, other styles of combat both magical and non-magical and in restraining criminals preferably without alerting muggles. They need only six months of intense training and then are assigned to a team of two veterans and a novice as an apprentice."

Harry contemplated what he was learning. Did he want to be like his father and actually break down crimes to figure out who the criminal was or did he want to be like his godfather and be the one sent to bring the bad guys in?

"One of the things I'm going to teach you is the tactics of working with one or more other people as a single cohesive unit. Which is really important when you find yourself outnumbered against multiple opponents or even one opponent stronger than you, like Voldemort. However that won't be until later.

"Now," Sirius clapped his hands together, "when a Hit Wizard enters a room they have only a second or two to memorize the layout of the room, identify and assess the threat level of all potential targets and than locate all possible exits. After the first second or two, spells start flying and it is almost impossible to do any of those while under duress. Which is why its so critical for you to be able to do it so quickly."

Sirius waved his wand and the furniture in the room quickly rearranged itself. "Let's make sure you learn this before you have to go back to Hogwarts in three weeks. I mean you might have already learned it if Dumbledore would stop being a manipulative bastard but oh well."

"Sirius," Harry sighed, hating that Sirius kept bringing up the subject and therefor brought up Harry's own annoyance with the topic and the Headmaster. He had wanted to give the Headmaster a piece of his mind about keeping such information from him, especially something that important about his own life. However, at least he now knew and getting angry over something that like and potentially causing a rift between him and the Headmaster probably wasn't the best idea right now. They had a war to fight, though after the war, if both of them survived, he was going to give the ancient wizard a piece of his mind.

"Take a few seconds to observe the room," Sirius stated, pretending like nothing happened. "Now close your eyes. Tell me everything about the layout you can."

"Um...the couch was...uh about five feet from the wall to my left with one end pressed against the far wall. The red armchair was...several feet from the wall to my right..."

"Wrong! The red armchair is in the corner of the wall to your left and the near wall. You're thinking of the love seat. Let's try this again."

Harry sighed, wondering how boring, tedious and long this was going to be.

* * *

"Sirius....WAKE UP!" Harry shouted, throwing a bucket of water on Sirius' sleeping form.

"Fargh!" Sirius gargled out, flailing around on his bed before tumbling over the side, tangled in sheets.

"Good news Remus! He's finally up!" Harry called through the doorway.

With some effort Sirius untangled himself from the wet sheets and stood up, glaring at his godson. "What the hell was that for?"

"It's Christmas and almost eleven in the morning. Remember we promised the Weasleys we'd be over there by two to exchange presents and have dinner."

"You could have just shaken me awake," Sirius accused, pointing his finger at the teen.

"I could have but this way was more entertaining. Now dry up and come downstairs. We got presents to open and Remus won't let me touch mine until your mangy hide is down there."

Harry turned and walked out of the room, deflecting the tickling spell Sirius shot at his back without even turning around. He stomped down the stairs of the Marauders place on Privet Drive, content to be in Little Whinging but not having to spend his time at the Dursleys. Remus was sitting on a couch in the living room, sipping on a cup of coffee as he waited for his best friend to finally get up.

"The mutt will be down in a few," Harry stated as he took a seat, his eyes on his pile of presents.

It took five minutes for Sirius to stumble down the stairs, still in his pajamas but at least dry. The man threw himself into an open set with an exaggerated sigh, an arm thrown over his eyes. Remus and Harry both looked at the dog animagus with a roll of their eyes. Than Harry looked at the werewolf expectantly.

"He's here, you can open them now," Remus lamented.

Harry waved his hand, a look of concentration on his face. The three separate piles of presents began to slowly lift off the ground and float to their respective recipients. None of them had particularly big piles, since presents with the Weasley's would be exchanged later.

Harry eagerly unwrapped his first present, a certified deluxe Hit Wizard first-aid kit, courtesy of Sirius. It came with several dozen healing potions of difference strengths, a score of pepper-up potions, various creams and salves that could be rubbed on burns, bruises and scratches. There was also a list of healing spells to use, as well as instructions on the wand movements. Sirius also gave him the potion that would allow him to complete his animagus transformation, which he had purchased from a black market potion maker for a pretty knut.

His next present was a combat belt used by Aurors and Hit Wizards, given to him by Mad-Eye. It was a strip of dragon hide that had six small pouches, that although appearing only the size of man's wallet, could store something the size of a trash can lid. Also included in the gift was a pair of books; The Art of War by Sun Tzu and A Military Commanders Guide to the Great Magical Wars of Europe: The War With Grindewald by various authors.

Remus gave him a large size wand-care kit, probably having to do with the fact that Harry had two backup wands beside his holly one. Remus also gave him a book that taught the reader how to perform magic at the same time from two different wands. It would give Harry, if he learned it, the opportunity to defend and attack at the same time. The biggest thing one needed to do such a thing was great mental awareness and occlumency, something that Harry was already mastering thanks to his animagus training.

Hagrid gave him a fur coat that would, according to the note, keep him warm in the coldest of weather. Dumbledore gave him two ancient looking tomes on light magic and battle magic. There was various things of candy from those he trained in the morning, as well as various dark wizard detectors from Order members.

For Sirius, Harry had purchased a weeks worth of polyjuice potion to allow his godfather to go out in the world every now and a than. He purchased Remus several muggle outfits and robes because the man's clothes were shabby at best. For Dumbledore, he purchased several pairs of socks with different designs on them, remembering what the Headmaster had mentioned in his first year. Hagrid would be receiving a large battle ax, with an ornate shaft made of ivory and a large double-edged blade made of silver. The ax was suppose to be for show, especially since its large size made it all but impossible for most men to wield. However, Harry knew Hagrid could wield it and might start carrying the weapon during his trips into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry had also purchased everyone he trained in the morning a set of battle armor and a wand holster, made from the hide of the Welsh green, the most abundant hide in the United Kingdom. Twenty-one wand holsters and sets of armor had wrung up a price of almost 2300 galleons, costing him most of the remains of his trust vault. It was a big price but well worth it if the armor stopped a curse from killing them.

Harry placed his last present, his third foe glass, down with his other opened presents. A glance at his companions showed that both of them had opened their last present several minutes ago. The clock read 11:40, meaning they still had over two hours before having to go to the Weasleys.

"Who wants bagels?" Sirius asked. "Cause I'm craving bagels."

"Is there even a bagel place around here?" Harry asked, not remembering ever seeing such a place.

"Nah, but there are a few in London. I'll just pop over real quick and pick us up some. Should be enough to tide us over until dinner. That good with everyone?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders. "Now that you mention them, I could go for a bagel right about now."

Sirius disappeared with a 'crack' and returned ten minutes later with a bag in his hands. "I didn't know what kind everyone liked so I just got a bunch with some cream cheese."

"I've only had a bagel a few times at Hogwarts," Harry stated as he followed Sirius into the kitchen.

"I'm not surprised," Remus muttered as he joined the two at the table. "They are really only popular in the big cities; London, Manchester and the like."

* * *

"See the way I see it," Harry started as they sat at the first feast back from break, "we've been going about this whole Death Eater thing too softly."

"Softly?" Neville questioned around a mouthful of food.

Harry leaned forward, and the others followed his example. "Yeah. We haven't really been actively pursuing these Junior Death Eaters. We've just been whittling down this list of people that could be Death Eaters and in the end, we won't really be sure if we have the right guys. Not to mention we still have over thirty names still on it."

"So what do you want to do?" Ron asked, eyes scanning the Gryffindors who sat near them, looking for eavesdroppers.

"We...corner potential suspects and we find out once and for all if they're one of the Junior Death Eaters involved in the attacks."

Neville gave him a questioning look. "And how do you plan on finding out what they know?"

"Truth potions, compulsion spells..."

"Torture," Hermione interrupted, her voice tinged with disgust.

"Not torture," Harry whispered back urgently. "Just some things that will make them tell us what we need to know."

"Do you think Dumbledore will condone of this?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe he wants to do it himself but he's too tied up with politics to even attempt it. He's already hanging onto his positions by a thread and you aren't allowed to administer truth potions to someone without their permission, and the permission of their parents if the person is still a minor. If he tries it on one person and someone finds out, Fudge will be down his throat."

Hermione shook her head fiercely. "This doesn't seem right Harry."

"You know what doesn't seem right? Muggle-borns being attacked because of who they are by bastards to cowardly to do anything about it unless they outnumber their target eleven to one," Ron hissed, saving Harry from replying.

Neville looked furtively between the three. "I'm with Harry and Ron on this one Hermione. If no one else is going to do anything, than its up to us to stop these guys. This seems like the best way, without crossing the line and forgetting our morals."

Harry nodded his head in thanks to the two males. "We'll just restrain them, find out what they know and if we have the wrong guys, we'll let them go."

"And if we get the wrong ones, who is to say they aren't going to tell on us to Fudge and get us thrown in jail? It isn't just Dumbledore he's after," Hermione pointed out, reminding Harry of Fudge's campaign against him.

"Sirius taught me how to obliviate people," Harry stated, rather plainly.

"What?" Hermione half-shouted, turning heads to the group of four.

Harry shot her a look that did nothing to quell the outrage on her face. She looked at Ron and Neville but besides looks of mild shock on their faces neither seemed to find something wrong with the whole situation like she did.

"Harry, mind magics are dangerous, especially erasing people's memories."

Harry snorted. "Sure, lets just let them be. Than when another student is attacked we can continue to ignore the situation."

"I'm not suggesting that," the bushy-haired witch hissed. "But don't you think you're taking this a little too far Harry?"

He looked her straight in the eyes, his face set in stone. "No. Not if it means saving more people from harm."

The three males were looking at Hermione expectantly and she found herself caving under their eyes. "Fine. I'll help but I won't approve of what we're doing."

Smiles of relief spread across Harry and Ron's faces, not use to doing things without Hermione's help. Ron glanced down to where his twin brothers sat, rather protectively around their friend Lee Jordan. "Should we get Fred and George's help? I'm sure they'll help us out."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Ask them about it after dinner."

The four friends sat in silence for several moments, going back to enjoying their meal.

"Do you know who you want to go after first?" Neville questioned, curious.

Harry turned and surveyed the Slytherin table, looking for his targets. Upon spotting them he observed the two for several seconds before turning back to his friends. "Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini."

Ron nodded his head, agreeing with going after the two of them first. "Both are pretty smart and competent duelers. Zabini has always been the quiet one in Malfoy's group and Nott has always stayed to himself, until recently of course."

"From what I've heard Nott has a real sadistic streak. Rumor has it, last year he stole a Hufflepuff first year's kitten and tortured it. They found the thing mutilated a few days later." Neville shuddered as he spoke.

"Plus his dad is a Death Eater," Harry murmured.

"Zabini is a sardonic and egotistical git. His mom has married so many men who mysteriously died its sickening. He's started getting more active in terrorizing younger kids lately, according to some of the younger Gryffindors," Ron explained, glaring at the group of Slytherins that made up Malfoy's group.

"I want to go after them soon. Like two days from now soon."

* * *

As Harry Potter and his friends plotted to find the identities of the Junior Death Eaters in Hogwarts, Voldemort was holding a meeting of his inner circle. The tall, pale man sat at the head of a long rectangular table, in a throne like chair. To his right sat Lucius Malfoy and to his left was Rhydian Lestrange, his two most trusted servants. Others at the table included Jonathon Avery Sr., Jonathon Avery Jr., Marcus Jugson, Walden Macnair, Thorfinn Rowle and Maddock Selwyn.

His inner circle was half the size it usually was but that would be fixed when he broke his ten followers out of Azkaban. Rhydian had been insisting it be soon since his two sons and daughter-in-law were three of the Death Eaters currently rotting in Azkaban. The man had been loyal since they were fifth years together and Voldemort supposed he owed it to the man.

"Macnair, what can you tell me of the giants?"

The Ministry executioner, who was currently on "vacation," had been negotiating with the giant clans that lived in the mountains of western and southern Europe. "They are hesitant my lord," Macnair stated, his voice raspy. "The Ministries have finally stopped chasing them and they are finally able to live peaceful lives in the mountains, where they don't have to worry about being disturbed by wizards."

Voldemort held back a sigh, wondering when giants suddenly decided to become such pathetic creatures. "Appeal to their sense of violence. I'm sure there are still many of them who wish to spill human blood, despite their Gurgs being such peace-loving wimps, and would be willing to disobey their Gurg or even better, overthrow their Gurg and have their entire clan working for us. Assure them that under our rule they can roam freely and won't be forced to such confined spaces high in the mountains."

Macnair nodded his head as his master's attention turned toward another of the men in the room. Maddock Selwyn was in charge of the Floo Network Authority for the Ministry of Magic. His job under Voldemort was to discreetly see who of the Ministry's employees could be swayed to the Dark Lord's side. He had already recruited five members of the Department of Magical Transportations and was working his way through the other Departments.

"How goes things in the Ministry, Selwyn? Any new recruits?"

"I have approached Cuthbert Mockridge, a half-blood who is the head of the Goblin Liaison Office. After several talks, I think he'll willingly join my lord. His mother was beaten by his muggle father on an almost daily basis during his youth until the woman snapped, murdering his father and than herself when he was fourteen years old. He hates muggles my lord."

Voldemort nodded, that was how many half-bloods became his follower, because of the actions of their muggle parent against their magical parent. "Are there any others?"

"Arnold Peasegoode is an Obliviator I've been trying to get a read on. He's also a half-blood who seems to disdain muggle-borns but I'm not sure if he's not just a boot licker trying to get by in a pureblood ruled Ministry or if he really has a hatred for them."

"I'm pleased with your progress so far. Already you have brought me five new followers and it looks like two more might join the ranks thanks to you. Good job Selwyn." The man beamed under his lord's praise. "Rowle, what news from the vampires?"

Rowle, a former assassin for hire, who now held the position of Wizengamot lord after the mysterious death of his father several years earlier, had been to several meetings with the vampire lord of the United Kingdom. The man's sadistic views along with his aristocratic ways made him the perfect person to appeal to the vampires.

"They are eager to feast on human flesh whenever they like my lord. However, they want to make sure they are safe from retaliation from both the Ministry and the Watchers before they go on a mass feeding or a battle for us."

Voldemort remembered the last time the vampires had assisted the Death Eaters in a battle, in 1979. They had easily beaten the Hit Wizards and Aurors that day. However, a group of sixteen Hit Wizards, under the command of Sirius Black, had assaulted the vampires' base of operations two days later. Several dozen of the creatures had died that day and the vampires had refused to help him after that.

"We won't need their assistance for a while so for now just keep communications open with them without promising them anything."

Rowle nodded his head. "Of course my lord."

"Jugson, how goes the defenses of our newest safe house?"

Marcus Jugson was a skilled Warder, who offered his services to purebloods in need of erecting defenses over their homes. He was expensive, but offered to raise wards the Ministry would refuse to erect due to their lethal nature and Gringotts would charge a fortune for. Not to mention the man was also one of the best at what he did.

"The basic wards have been up for three days now. I've been carving the runes needed for some of the more powerful wards for the pass few days and will be ready to bring them all up at once tomorrow evening."

The Dark Lord nodded his head. Jugson was always short and to the point, one of the things he liked about the man. "Avery, how goes the training of our newer recruits?"

When Voldemort said Avery he was always referring to the younger one because the older one he considered his friend, or at least as close to the friend as Voldemort had. The younger Avery, who was a member of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, wouldn't usually be in charge of teaching the new recruits how to fight. However, with most of their best fighters in Azkaban, the chore had fallen on the man.

"It is half and half my lord. The young ones are eager to learn and are trying their hardest to master everything I teach them, though some of them just don't have the skills to do it. The older ones we've been bringing in are like petulant children and some refuse to learn anything I am trying to teach them because they think they already know enough."

"You have my permission to use light torture spells to help persuade them. Nothing too painful, at least not yet. We don't want to scare them away so soon but get the point across that they aren't nearly as good as they'd like to think."

"Of course my lord," Avery stated, tilting his head in acknowledgment.

"Jonathon, what news of the Reapers?"

The elder Avery, who had been a supporter of him since their sixth year, hadn't held a job in his life and instead lived off his fortune and played politics in the Wizengamot. The Reapers was a small gang of thirteen thugs who had banned together in Knockturn Alley to threaten shop owners for protection money and mug shoppers. Voldemort wanted to add them to his ranks, mostly as cannon fodder.

"I haven't run into them yet. I've walked through the alley several times with a money bag obviously hanging from my side and wasn't approached by anyone. I talked to Borgin about them but he hasn't been threatened by them so far."

"Become more active in searching for them. We will need their numbers in the near future."

"Of course," Avery Sr. breathed out quickly, looking curiously at the Dark Lord. He didn't know of any plans that required such man power in the near future.

"Lucius, how goes things with the Minister? Still a bumbling fool I hope?"

"Indeed my lord. He still refuses to even think about your return. I've managed to focus him more on discrediting Potter and Dumbledore and he has taken to the idea with enthusiasm. With a little help from his undersecretary, I've managed to convince him that all these vampire and werewolf restrictions that are being pushed into his office are for the benefit of all wizard kind. He should be signing them tomorrow morning."

Voldemort nodded before turning to Rhydian Lestrange, his oldest supporter. "Rhydian, what news from the Wizengamot?"

"I don't know if we'll have enough votes to get a Minister of our choosing into office when we kill Fudge in the summer. Dumbledore may not hold a large chunk of supporters but with Potter already claiming headship of his family, the Kingston family and holding control of the Black family votes, along with the Longbottom and Bones heirs soon to be coming into positions as heads, it will be hard for us to get more sway to our side. Fudge's campaign against Potter and Dumbledore is helping our cause by turning potential supporters of them to other options but unfortunately most of them don't view that other option as us."

"Try what you can. There is still five months of work to be done before this plan is even put into action. That should give us enough time to make sure things go in our favor. However, these discussions can wait until further notice."

The Death Eaters looked at the Dark Lord in curiosity as he stood from his seat. The powerful wizard walked around the table, his fingers brushing the back of the chairs his inner circle sat in, making several of them shiver involuntarily.

"Rhydian I have decided, at your insistence, to advance our schedule and break out my faithful from Azkaban."

The man's eyes widened slightly before he looked at the extremely pale mage in appreciation. "Thank you."

"I want this to be done in a few days. Avery, find out what you can about the defenses from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." The MLE Squad member nodded his head quickly. "Lucius, start talking to Fudge about Black. If the blood-traitor is in Fudge's mind, he will be the first person the Minister thinks of when the breakout happens and will be the one he blames in the press release, not giving the people enough time to even think of us."

"As you wish," Lucius mumbled.

"Rowle, you shall lead the breakout and Avery will be your second. Contact Goyle, Crabbe, Nott and Gibbon as soon as possible, for they will be your main force. Bring Flint, Higgs and Bole along as well, give them a taste of the action they will be seeing a lot of in the future. Jugson you will be in charge of the backup force. Pettigrew will be your veteran help, and if Avery thinks they are ready Montaque and Burrow will go with you as well. If not, than I'm sure we can pry Snape from his teaching post for a few hours."

"My lord," Rowle hesitated, "do you think nine, thirteen including the backups, will be enough to take Azkaban?"

Voldemort sneered at the man. "This is the primary plan. If Avery brings me a report saying that the defenses there are stronger than that I will assign more men to assist you. However, I plan on talking to the Dementors before the attack takes place. When they agree to assist me again, there goes almost all of the island's defenders."

"Of course my lord. I'm sorry to have questioned you."

"Lestrange will contact you in a few days with the go ahead. Prepare yourselves."


	12. Taking Action

This chapter is mostly filler until next chapter, which will probably be posted in a week or so since I'm already halfway done with it.

Chapter 12 Taking Action

Harry stood in front of the group of students in front of him, noticing that Colin Creevey had decided to join them as well. The younger Gryffindor, who had taken several weeks to heal from his attack, looked nervous but also determined. Like Wayne, the teen wanted to be able to defend himself if attacked again and Harry couldn't blame the kid. Still that was one more person he would have to buy a wand holster and armor for.

"Today we won't be going outside to train, in fact I don't plan on training outside at all from now on. A house elf I know recently showed me a room that will be way better for our training. Follow me."

The group followed as Harry walked up several flights of stairs. He lead them to a corridor on the seventh floor where a tapestry of a man being club by trolls hung. He instructed them to wait as he walk by the tapestry three times before a door popped into existence.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirements," Harry stated, throwing open the door.

The crowd of teens gasped at what they saw. A large 400 meter track stood in the middle of the impossibly large room. In the middle of the track was several exercise equipments for different muscles of the body, along with several punching bags and sparing mats. Off to the side were about fifty wooden dummies painted black.

"All you have to do is imagine something and it will appear. I've been told there are limits but so far I haven't met any. I want us to meet here everyday as we expand on our training. Same time as always. I'm going to drop doing physical stuff, except running, and spell learning every day and make them every other day. That way we can fit in more things I've learned over the break that you should know."

Everyone looked extremely curious as to what the new things were. Some were relieved they wouldn't be spending so much time with the physical stuff, while others were relieved the learning of new spells was going to slow down.

"What's one of things we are going to be learning?" Wayne Hopkins asked.

"Memorizing the layout of a room, identifying all possible exits and assessing the threat level of all targets in the blink of an eye"

They all look flabbergasted at the thought of learning such a thing. Was such a thing even possible?

"What else?" Susan Bones questioned, eager to find out.

"Fighting as a group and fighting multiple opponents at one time will be the main ones. How you handle and react to certain situations, getting you use to being in battles and fighting dark creatures." Harry ticked them off on his fingers as he listed them all.

"Fighting dark creatures?"

"What do you mean getting use to fighting battles?"

The Boy-Who-Lived held up his hands to stop the flow of questions. "I'll show you. After we get done going for our run first."

* * *

Harry stood in front of Ron, Neville, Hermione, Fred and George in a secluded corner of the Gryffindor common room. Privacy wards had been erected around the area and they were discussing their plans for the day. Fred and George had been a great help as their usual scheming to prank people really gave them a leg up in finding out where people were during parts of the day.

"Like clockwork, when he has off in the time period between his Arithmancy and Herbology classes today, Nott is in the library doing homework by himself. Zabini is usually in the Slytherin common room by that time. If we want to get them at the same time, we'll have to get Zabini before he makes it to the Slytherin dorms, sometime right after his Ancient Runes class."

Harry nodded his head to the twins, letting them take over, since it was mostly there idea. "Right, Zabini usually walks with Malfoy and his little cronies. However, if delayed by a professor or for some other reason, Malfoy won't want to wait for him and so the group will move on without Zabini, leaving him to walk back alone."

"The walk between the Ancient Runes classroom and the Slytherin dorms is about nine minutes and includes walking down a corridor on the second floor rarely used except by Slytherins going to and from Ancient Runes. Its the perfect opportunity to capture him without anyone interfering or finding out what we're doing."

"Fred here has kindly offered to be the one to delay Zabini," Harry explained, taking over again. "I'm going to let him use my invisibility cloak to sneak into the Runes classroom and delay the Slytherin long enough for Malfoy to get bored and leave him behind. I'm going to be the stopping force that prevents Zabini from getting pass a certain point. Hermione will be my backup and Fred, who will be following Zabini under my cloak, will make sure Zabini doesn't retreat backwards if we can't restrain him quickly enough.

"As for Nott, he usually sits in a secluded table between some shelves near the back left corner of the library. There are several other tables within viewing area and the Charms shelves, which are always popular allow people viewing room to Nott's position. George will make sure no one is in the nearby area and will make sure Madam Pince is distracted. Ron will be the one who sneaks up on Nott, subdues him and than gets Nott out of the library. Neville will be the lookout, to make sure no one witnesses what we do."

Hermione started to raise her hand at the end of Harry's explanation, before remembering she wasn't in class and quickly put it down at her side. "Why not just delay Nott as well so we can restrain him in a less public place?"

"Nott always goes directly to the library and once you exit the Arithmancy corridor you are in the main hallway of the castle. The walk between the Arithmancy classroom and the library is amongst the most populated places in Hogwarts during the day. Even if you delay Nott ten minutes, which doesn't seem likely, you still have a high chance of students, ghost and professors running into you. In the library we have a better chance of getting him secluded from everyone else."

Hermione nodded at George's explanation. Ron was the next one with a question, voicing his only concern with the plan.

"How am I to get Nott out of the library without being seen? The Disillusion Charm won't help much against the bright lights of the library."

Harry nodded his head, having already thought of that. Luckily Fred and George were working hard on their joke shop items.

"Give him these." Fred handed his younger brother two vials. "Its the potions we made for the canary cream and the nosebleed nougat. Combine them together and if anyone asked tell them it was spell casting gone wrong. The canary cream should disfigure his face enough where no one will know who he is."

"There is a spell used in hospitals that get unconscious patients to swallow potions, which I'll teach to you. Give him the potions and levitate him in front of you. Rush out yelling about not researching spells before casting them and how you're taking him to the hospital wing, no should find it suspicious. But make sure you get him out of the library and down the designated escape corridor within twenty seconds because thats when the canary potion will wear off," George finished explaining to his younger brother.

"Alright," Harry looked them all in the eye, "let's do this."

* * *

"What the fuck Potter?" Zabini semi-shouted when he was coherent enough.

Nott was half sitting, half laying down on the ground. One hand grasped his nose, which had finally stopped bleeding, while the other struggled to find his wand. Zabini was almost on his feet, digging into his robe pocket, attempting to find his own wand.

"You guys looking for these?" Harry asked, waving the two pieces of magical wood in the Slytherins' faces.

"Give me my wand," Nott slurred out, grasping for said object.

Harry shoved the two wands into his pocket and glared at the two in front of him. "Not until you tell me what you know about the attacks going on."

"We don't know shit Potter. Now give us back our wands before you get in real trouble," Blaise hissed out.

"I'll get in trouble?" The dark-haired teen chuckled. "Coming from two defenseless and spineless snakes I don't really feel threatened." The glares intensified. "Now lets see if I can't get you talking. _Petrificus Totalus._"

The two Slytherins found their legs slamming together and their arms becoming rigid at their sides, causing them both to fall back to the ground. Harry walked over them, muttering several compulsion spells as he flicked his wand at their heads. Feeling satisfied he cast the spells right, the Boy-Who-Lived took out two vials of a light green liquid from his robe. With a wave of his wand he slackened their lips and poured the truth serum into their mouths before using the spell George was talking about early to make sure they swallowed it.

He released them from the body-bind, his arm swinging through the air as they both tried to quickly scramble to their feet. Nott and Zabini were knocked to the ground, the air leaving their lungs. A twist of holly had both of them stuck to the ground, except their heads, which they lifted to glare at the Gryffindor in front of them.

"Now that you are both comfortable, tell me what I want to know."

"We don't know anything Potter!" Nott growled out.

"Are you the ones attacking students?" Harry demanded.

"No!" Zabini snarled.

"Do you know who is?"

"We have no fucking idea!"

Harry was getting frustrated with their lack of answers. "Is Malfoy involved? Does he know anything?"

"Always obsessed with Malfoy, Potter," Nott chuckled. "There are worse people in Slytherin than Draco Malfoy."

"We told you," Zabini grounded out, "we have no idea who is behind the attacks. Besides, if I did know, I would have asked to join them a long time ago."

Harry grit his teeth, glaring at the two pieces of scum in front of him. He wanted to hit that smug grin off Zabini's face so bad. Still, he had promised Hermione he wouldn't resort to violence. "Fine."

"Now let us go," Nott barked.

"Sure, but we can't have you running to Snape to tell on me. So we're going to have to make sure you don't remember any of this."

Both of their eyes widened in fear as Harry lifted his wand. "What are you doing Potter?"

"Obliviating you, not that you'll remember. _Obliviate! Obliviate!_"

As the two went limp Harry unstuck their bodies from the ground. He cleaned up the blood that had flowed from Nott's nose. He then levitated both of their bodies up from the ground and walked out of the abandoned classroom they had been in.

"Was that satisfactory?" Harry asked, the bodies trailing behind him.

"Yes, although you could have just stuck them to the ground before releasing the body bind," Hermione muttered.

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he walked the corridors to the Hospital Wing. Ron and Hermione trailed behind him. The twins had class but demanded to be told what was found out at the earliest possibility. Neville was watching the map farther down the corridor, to run interference in case anyone tried going down that way.

"So now what?" Ron asked, indicating the fact that neither Slytherin knew anything.

"We pick new targets, I guess. They said there are worse in Slytherin than Malfoy, so I say we target some of the older years."

"Anything?" Neville asked, walking into view.

"Nothing," Ron replied glumly.

They walked in silence to the Hospital Wing, stopping just outside to finish their plan. Ron hit Harry with a Stinging Hex in the shoulder, ripping the fabric and making the shoulder red and slightly swollen. Harry hit both the unconscious Slytherins with a stunner before smashing the back of both their heads into the stone wall. Hermione, who didn't know this part of the plan, opened her mouth in outrage but was quickly silenced by Neville.

Harry made sure he didn't hit their heads too hard before walking into the Hospital Wing with his victims right behind him.

"Mr. Potter, what is going on here?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.

There were two kinds of Obliviating; the first locked memories deep in someone's mind so most couldn't find them, leaving the person with no recollection of what happened at all. The second also locked the person's memories deep within their mind except this one had the caster creating vague false-memories so instead of being left with nothing the person vaguely recalled doing something, even if they didn't actually do it. Obviously the second one was harder, but that didn't prevent Harry from learning it.

"I was walking down the corridor when I had a run in with Nott and Zabini here. We exchanged some insults before things, uh, got heated. They hit me with a stinging hex in the shoulder and I got them both with stunners. They took nasty falls, the both of them," Harry explained in his most innocent voice, mixing in some regret and shame in there as well.

He carefully floated both teens on the bed, as Madam Pomfrey started clucking around them. She waved her wand over Zabini, muttering about duels in the hallway. Harry let her diagnose the stunner and the damage to the back of the head, his story helping her link the fall from being stunned into how such damage came to be there, even if it was all false.

"I gotta get going to class Madam Pomfrey, I don't want to miss anything. Don't worry about the shoulder, I barely feel anything!" He didn't give her anytime to voice protest because he sprinted from the way-too-white room.

His three friends were outside waiting for him, Hermione with an intense glare on her face. She waited until they were away from the Hospital Wing before exploding.

"I can't believe you! You promised me there would be no violence!"

"I promised you there would be no violence during the asking of questions. I didn't break that promise," Harry pointed out.

"You can't just go around bashing people's heads in," Hermione growled.

The green-eyed male sighed in exasperation. "They were unconscious. They felt nothing and when they wake up they'll feel nothing because Madam Pomfrey will have healed it all. They suffer none. It isn't that big of a deal."

"Harry, if you are going to do that again, I don't think I can join you anymore."

"Relax Hermione," Ron soothed, stepping into the argument. "Madam Pomfrey won't fall for that excuse again. We're going to have to find a new way to explain their lack of memories."

"Maybe something that involves a lot of firewhiskey," Neville quipped, grinning.

* * *

Black clouds swirled through the sky, blocking out the moon and stars that littered the dark abyss known as space. The ground was covered in dead grass, all the way till the ground abruptly ended. More then fifty feet below water crashed into several jagged rocks. In the distance, certain people could see a black castle that loomed in the horizon, constantly surrounded by a heavy fog.

Voldemort walked slowly to the cliff side, the three muggles, their bodies limp and their eyes glassy, shuffling along behind him. He stopped several feet from the edge, a chill making its way to his bones, not that it really affected him. The sky around him started to darken and the freezing January air got a lot colder. Looks like he wasn't the only one to arrive on time.

The Dementor, larger than the rest of its brethren, came floating up from the side of the cliff, where it sat hovering in front of the Dark Lord. It made no move toward him or even any gesture that it even knew he was there. With a casual nod of his head, one of the muggles staggered pass Voldemort and stopped in front of the Dementor. He could feel a slight pressure behind his left eye as the muggle tried fighting the magic over its mind due to its fear of the Dementor's presence but Voldemort ruthlessly crushed it. Instantly the thing sprang forward, grabbing the cursed muggle around its shoulders and crushed its mouth against the human's. With a shuddering gasp, the muggle's soul was slowly but surely sucked from its body.

"I ask for your help again. I'm offering the same conditions as last time. Serve me and you can feast on my enemies and on muggles whenever you want."

The Dementor made a beckoning motion with its hand. Voldemort sent over the second of three muggles. This time instead of sucking out its soul, the Dementor placed its hand on the muggle's forehead. "We accept your offer, just like we did twenty years ago." The raspy voice came from the muggle's mouth but it wasn't the muggle who spoke.

"A wise decision. All I ask of you is two things. The first is that several of my followers will be assaulting Azkaban in a few minutes to rescue my other followers who have unfortunately called the prison home for the pass fourteen years. If your kind could conveniently be in a separate part of the prison during the attack that would be most beneficial."

"Why don't we just take out the human guards for you?" the raspy voice asked, the eagerness to feast on more souls evident in its voice.

"That is the second thing I must ask. The Ministry refuses to acknowledge my return and so I operate in the shadows until such a time where I feel acting in such a way will no longer benefit me. I ask that you wait the few more months it will be before I reveal myself before you leave this prison and start feasting to your hearts delight."

A moment passed and Voldemort thought he might have offended the creature. "We will wait for your signal."

Voldemort nodded his head and with a wave of his arm, forced the third and final muggle forward. He didn't wait to see the Dementor suck the soul of the two muggles now in front of it. Instead he apparated away to where Rhydian waited, giving the man the signal for the mission to take place.

During the first war with Voldemort, when the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement had twice the numbers it did now, twelve Hit Wizards and twenty Magical Law Enforcement Squad members use to be tasked with guarding Azkaban. When the war ended and the Dementors were once again forced to serve the Ministry, the number of human guards had been cut to eight Magical Law Enforcement Squad members. Four would guard the entrance gate while the other four generally sat in the break room. The Dementors did the patrolling and the house elves fed the prisoners, no need for the humans to do much more besides let people in and out.

The four in the guard house didn't see the nine chameleon like figures slowly making their way through the mist that surrounded the entrance. They didn't see the wands that were pointed in their directions. And they only had a second to gaze in confusion at the green jets of light that flew barely three feet before striking each of their bodies, throwing them to the floor dead.

The door to the break room, where an intense game of poker was being played, was blown off its hinges. Spells rained into the room, slamming into the four enforcement officials in the room, none of who had even had time to stand up before they were killed.

"Spread out and find are brethren!"

* * *

Fudge looked at the folder in front of him with a frown. He leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin with his left hand as he thought about what it all meant. Shifting forward he pressed a button on his intercom;

"Julia please get Dolores Umbridge in here."

"Right away, sir," his secretary replied.

It was a few minutes before the Undersecretary to the Minister walked into the officer, her bright pink robes making the Minister have to hide a grimace. He didn't allow her to say anything, just held out the folder for her to read. The folder didn't hold much, just a piece of parchment with several paragraphs and another piece of parchment with a list of names.

"So Harry Potter is training a group of students?" Umbridge asked, though she already knew the answer, having read it in the report.

"Yes. He's getting them in shape, teaching them powerful magics and different styles of fighting."

The woman regarded him curiously. "What do you think he's doing?"

Fudge slammed his hands on the desk and stood up. "He's teaching them to be fighters!"

"To fight who? To fight us?" Umbridge was breathless as she asked it. Her eyes widened in anticipation as she awaited the answer.

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. The real question is, is he doing this on his own or is Dumbledore putting him up to it?"

"Dumbledore sir?"

"Yes Dumbledore. I don't trust that man. Not one bit. You know there were rumors of him having his own fighting force during the war with You-Know-Who. Potter's parents were apparently some of the members. Maybe Dumbledore is bringing it back, and he is using Potter to corrupt the next generation!"

"Even then sir, they are just children. Around twenty-five of them judging by the list but no threat to Aurors and Hit Wizards."

Fudge nodded his head, but wouldn't be deterred from viewing this as a major threat to his power. "Look at the names of some of the children. Four Weasleys, Susan Bones, Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst, Eddie Carmichael and Cho Chang. All wards of Ministry employees! And Arthur Weasley and Amelia Bones have been on my list of employees to watch since Dumbledore started this stupid crusade about You-Know-Who last June."

"Amelia Bones has the loyalty of many Aurors and Hit Wizards," the Undersecretary simpered. "Who knows how many would choose her if forced to decide."

"Not to mention the power those children can have in the Wizengamot. Potter, Boot and Longbottom are all of the noble houses. The families of Weasley, Bones, Chang, Goldstein, Spinnet, Vane and Carmichael all hold seats as well."

Umbridge observed the list of names again, marking the names of everyone who had a relation that either worked for the Ministry or held a seat on the Wizengamot. "It's a politically powerful group of children sir. They can pose a serious threat to the Ministry."

"I know, especially if you combine them with Dumbledore. I need you to go to Hogwarts and find out whats going on."

"Of course sir."

Fudge turned toward the window, which although being placed several dozen meters underground, showed the sunset over London. "You'll leave tomorrow and be there for as long as it takes to get to the bottom of this. I'll assign you several men for protection, men who are loyal to me. As for Bones and Weasley, I'll have people keep a closer eye on the both of them."

"Minister!"

An Auror burst into the room, throwing the door open. The man was panting and his face was stricken. The Minister and his Undersecretary both turned toward the Auror with expectant looks on their faces.

"What is it Williamson?" Fudge demanded.

"Azkaban sir! Its been attacked The guards were killed and a dozen of the prisoners have escaped!"

* * *

"Right Luna is it?" Harry asked as the blond sat down next to him.

They were sitting in one of the many courtyards that Hogwarts had littered between its walls. Since most of the tutoring would involve practical spell work, Harry decided it would be best to hold the sessions in a large area. He contemplated one of the unused classrooms but decided he liked the outdoors better. It was normally pretty chilly out but Harry had layered the courtyard with warming charms that allowed them to be outside in just a long sleeve shirt.

Large gray eyes examined him through dirty blond hair that hung in her face. The Ravenclaw had a necklace made of butterbeer caps and radish earrings, making Harry wonder what kind of girl he was going to be tutoring.

"Yes but most people call me Loony," the girl replied.

Harry frowned. "Why would they do that?"

"People can be mean," Luna stated. "Probably infested with wrackspurts."

"Right..."

Harry studied the girl in front of him and realized that her eyes always appeared as if they were widened in surprise and the rest of her face had a faraway look on it. Add that with the nonsense thing she just said and Harry could see why people might call her loony. "People can be mean but I'm not one of those people. Anyway, Professor Bedeau said you've been struggling with your counter curses. Why don't we go over the ones you've already learned in class and see if I can't help you out."

Forty minutes later, at the end of their session, Harry had managed to help Luna cast the first three counter-curses fourth years learned correctly. The girl was odd, he couldn't lie, but she had made him laugh and he actually had a good time tutoring her, listening to all her theories.

"You've actually made some great progress today Luna. Why don't we meet here again on Thursday, same time?"

"Sure. It will almost be like having a friend."

The Ravenclaw started to walk away, but Harry's hand shot up and rested on her shoulder. "Luna, every morning at six me and a bunch of other students meet up to do some training and stuff. If you wanted to show up and maybe see if you wanted to do the training with us that would be cool. It will help you in DADA as well."

The younger Ravenclaw looked at him in surprise, at least he thought it was surprise. It was hard to tell what with her always looking surprised. "I would like that very much."

"Great!" Harry smiled at her, getting a smile in return. "Just ask Terry Boot, Eddie Carmichael, Cho Chang, Michael Corner, Lisa Turpin, Anthony Goldstein or Mandy Brocklehurst where to go. They're the Ravenclaws who train with me."

* * *

"Potter."

"Hey Tracey." Several moments of silence passed between them. "You know, you could sit down if you wanted to."

Harry indicated the seat next to him. Tracey sneered at him and than at the seat before gingerly sitting down. She placed her books and notes on the table, taking out a quill to write down anything Harry told her.

She had curly brown hair that reached her shoulders and eyes as black as Harry's hair. She was almost as tall as Harry with a curvy frame and if the Boy-Who-Lived was honest with himself, Tracey Davis was very pretty.

"When you told me to meet you in a courtyard I thought you were kidding," Tracey stated, look disapprovingly at the area they were holding their study session in.

"It isn't that bad Tracey. The warming charms I layered the courtyard with are keeping us warm and the fresh air will allow us to keep clear heads. Plus the open area will make it easier for the spell casting." Harry launched a spell that raced thirty feet across the courtyard from where they say before splashing harmlessly against the magically enhanced stone of the castle walls.

"Now, through the first half of the year we went over some curses you can use if you ever find yourself in trouble. Lets start with some of the first ones and see how you do. I'll try to help you with whatever you have trouble grasping."

Tracey didn't say anything but turned toward the far wall and shot out the Spear, a decently powered piercing hex they had been taught during their second class. The spell fizzled several inches from her wand. Harry asked her to perform the spell again, staring intently at her wand movement.

"You're too stiff in your wrist. Loosen it up when you do the sideways sweep and downward flick," Harry instructed.

Tracey tried doing what he said but her wrist was still tense. It took five minutes for her to finally loosen up her wrist enough for the spell to be effective. She looked rather surprised that his suggestion had worked. Harry was just surprised that she had actually done what he asked.

"Thanks for that Potter." Tracey muttered quickly, as if the thought of apologizing pained her.

"Can I ask you Tracey, why you don't seem to like me?" She looked at him in surprise that he would ask such a question. He merely gazed at her curiously. "As far as I know, you and I have never personally exchanged words before today so I don't see how you could come to hate me like you seem to do."

The Slytherin witch surveyed him for several seconds. "I don't hate you Potter. My father is a Wizengamot lord and my family has pledged its allegiance to the Malfoys for several generations, along with the Averys, Parkinsons, Flints, Crabbes and Goyles. My father has pressured me to stay on Draco's good side my entire Hogwarts career. He hates you with a passion and so I must make it seem like I hate you too."

"I guess that makes sense considering this whole pureblood world is ruled by nothing but politics really." Harry paused. "So does that mean you support Voldemort as well?"

Tracey hissed at the name, shaking her head vehemently. "I might not like muggleborns but I don't want to see them killed. I don't like them because of their ignorance of our world. Just better educate them on the traditions of wizarding society and I'd have no problem with them. My father on the other hand will probably join the Death Eaters soon. He thinks muggleborns should be banished from our society, plus doing so will earn him much favor with Lucius Malfoy."

"I know this may seem like a foreign idea to you as a pureblood but you don't always have to do what your parents wish. If what they want you to do goes against what you stand for, than don't be afraid to just walk away."

"Its not as easy as you'd like to think Potter," Tracey stated plainly.

"Maybe it isn't, maybe it is. But if you want to give it a shot and really improve your defense grade, than meet me tomorrow morning at six on the seventh floor, near that tapestry of the guy being clubbed by a troll. Me and about twenty-five other students train in the morning. If you don't show up I'll understand or if you show up and decide it isn't for you that's fine as well."

A/N – I wasn't originally going to include an Umbridge/Harry battle going on. Umbridge was only going to play a small role in the story, until a reviewer stated they were upset they wouldn't be seeing how Harry dealt with Umbridge in this story. So I decided to add her in as a more involved character. After deciding to do this, I am rethinking how I want this story to end, since I originally had the ending already mapped out in my head. Now I'm going to throw another element in and make the ending even more epic...hopefully.

I know the scenes with Luna and Tracey aren't long at all. I just wanted to introduce them to the story. I hope to expand on their character, along with many others, as the story progresses.


	13. Toads, Careers and Revealed Identities

Chapter 13 Toads, Careers and Revealed Identities

Harry sat surveying the layout the simulation device projected in front of him. It was a battle by the river Rhine near Cologne, Germany. A huge meadow with about two hundred of Grindewald's followers plus sixty German Ministry soldiers against a combined two hundred and thirteen French, Spanish and United Kingdom soldiers. Harry was to give Moody his suggestions on how he would change the formation of the trio's forces and then tell him how he would direct them into battle. The simulation would play out the actual battle and would then play the battle as if the commanders had used Harry's ideas instead of their own.

This was the kind of things Moody had him do during their private lessons. He would give Harry a battle that had already taken place and have him direct a group of fighters to victory. Harry wouldn't be able to participate, all he could do is dish out orders, watch his men act on his orders and watch the enemy react to his men's actions. Then Moody would compare how Harry's orders compared to that of the commanders who had actually partaken in the battle, showing how the battle had actually happened. They were using a simulation device, based off a pensieve, created to help train the leaders of the Aurors and Hit Wizards.

Mad-Eye was training him to be a smart, tactical leader. He already had the leader part under control, if the thirty-seven teenagers who showed up to be trained by him every morning was any indication. Moody wanted him to have the brains and common sense to go along with his ability to draw people to him, so he wouldn't waste lives.

When he worked with Dumbledore, every other day in his private training, he learned Light Magic, which was excellent in defending against the Dark Arts and good offensively against demons. He was also taught wide-effect spells, powerful magics that could incapacitate multiple opponents with one sweep of the wand. Dumbledore also expanded his ability to use Transfiguration in battle, teaching him the ins and outs of quick animation and conjuring.

* * *

The group of students training in the morning had expanded from the twenty-six, including Harry, there was the first day back from break almost two weeks ago to the thirty-eight there was now. Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, Angelina Johnson were the new Gryffindors. Padma Patil, Su Li, Luna Lovegood and Alex Chambers, another friend of Cho, were the new Ravenclaws. Jeff Summerby was the seventh year Hufflepuff prefect who was curious where his younger housemates went in the morning. Tracey Davis decided to show up, bringing her friend Daphna Greengrass along on the first visit, and her brother, Angel Davis and his friend Derek Harper after that.

Harry gave the new people a list of thirty-five spells the others had already learned telling them to learn it on their own and if they needed help, ask him next meeting. Since they were the first ones done with running, he had them do physical exercises as soon as they were done with running; giving them a Pepper-Up Potion to make sure they had the energy. They would be behind everyone physically but Harry would make sure they learned the important things he was teaching now.

The door to the room of the requirement was thrown open just as Harry's spell slammed into the dummy. The wooden dummy exploded in a shower of splinters, raining down on the new arrivals, who could only gape in shock at the raw power they just saw. A toad-like woman shook her head, ridding herself of her shocked look before marching into the room, the eight Magical Law Enforcement members (two Hit Wizards, two Aurors and four Magical Law Enforcement Squad members) filing in behind her.

"So this is where you've been hiding," the toad-like woman breathed out.

The students turned toward the new arrivals, some of them, including Harry, tilting their head in confusion. "I'm sorry," Harry started, "who are you?"

"I'm Dolores Umbridge, Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic."

Harry felt his face scrunch in disgust as he nodded his head. "Good to know." The Boy-Who-Lived turned back toward the other students. "Now, such a spell isn't really useful if you target a person. Its rather slow moving and easy to dodge. What you want to do is use it on objects, the ground, walls and even the ceiling. Anything that will blow up and cause damage. Its quite destructive so..."

"Hem hem."

Harry glanced over his shoulder at the Undersecretary. "Can I help you with something?"

"Just what do you think you're doing Mr. Potter?"

The black-haired teen turned fully toward her and her escort of magical law enforcers. He glanced at the eight of them and subconsciously identified only the two Hit Wizards and one of the Aurors as a real threat.

"I'm trying to teach some fellow students a spell but you keep interfering with that," Harry stated, plainly.

"Why do students need to learn such magic Mr. Potter?" Umbridge asked.

Hermione took a small step forward and decided to chime in. "Correct me if I'm wrong but what does the magic being taught matter if it isn't illegal? This is a defense group, hence we're learning to defend ourselves."

The Ministry employee turned toward Hermione, a gleam shining in her eyes. "So Dumbledore had you form this group?"

"No." Harry drew out the 'o,' wondering where such a conclusion came from. "It's a study group I kind of started. This happened because of our own initiative."

"So you organized all of this by yourself?"

"It's like talking to a brick wall," Harry muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

The students behind him chuckled at the woman's expense, causing her to bristle in indignation. "I ask again Mr. Potter, why teenagers need to know such dangerous spells?"

"I'm sorry are what we doing illegal? Is that why you're here?" Harry asked.

"No." Susan Bones declared, stepping forward. "Technically they aren't allowed to be here because Hogwarts is outside Ministry jurisdiction unless a law has been broken. Since no crimes have been broken recently they have no reason to be here. If you want to consider what Madam Umbridge is doing an interrogation, you can file charges against her."

"We're investigating the recent attacks on students," Umbridge all but snarled, plastering a big fake smile on her face.

"Oh, now you care," Ron growled out.

Umbridge turned her gaze toward Ron, her eyes all but lighting up upon spotting him. "Mr. Weasley, you should watch your mouth around high ranking Ministry employees. Your father's job might depend on it."

Harry didn't want anyone's job, especially Mr. Weasley's, in jeopardy because of some toad hybrid. So he stepped forward, bringing back everyone's attention toward him.

"So what you are trying to say is that I and this group are in fact suspects."

The group of students murmured amongst themselves at Harry's statement. Many had outraged looks on their face that they would even be considered suspects.

"The Ministry must keep their eyes open and look at everyone as a suspect," one of the Aurors chimed in.

Harry glanced briefly at the eight law enforcement members Umbridge had brought with her. They had remained silent throughout the entire exchange so far and he had forgotten they were there.

"I'm sure they must but its muggleborns being attacked and this group has twelve muggleborns in it, including two of those who were attacked. Which is why we learn to defend ourselves; so it doesn't happen to us, or in some cases, so it doesn't happen to us again. If you want to start investigating anyone, why don't you start with the snobbish purebloods. They are the ones who primarily make up the Death Eaters."

"Why would you bring up Death Eaters, Mr. Potter?" Umbridge asked, her voice laced with false sweetness.

"Because they're the ones behind the attacks," the teen stated bluntly.

The toad hybrid shook her head in pity. "There is no reason to suspect that the terrorist group known as Death Eaters are active again."

"No," Terry Boot snorted. "Just that Voldemort has returned. Or do you think those Death Eaters in Azkaban broke themselves out?"

"Spreading your vicious lies I see Potter, fooling others into believing what you spew is the truth. Tell me something Mr. Potter, do you enjoy spreading false information around in order to panic the public? And for your information Mr. Boot it was Sirius Black who broke those Death Eaters out of Azkaban."

"Oh yes the infamous Sirius Black, who has been on the run for two and a half years but the Ministry assures us they are close to capturing him. Bullshit! Sirius Black hasn't done anything since escaping all those years ago besides dropping by Hogwarts for a bit. What makes you think he did it? Lack of a better suspect and just want the public to think they only have one person to fear?" Neville asked.

Harry allowed a small grin to appear on his face at Neville defending Sirius. As far as he knew only three people in the room knew the truth about Sirius, so having others defend him even while probably still thinking the man was a mass-murderer made him chuckle.

The other Auror cleared his throat. "We have Aurors hot on the trail of Black!"

Harry snorted. "Yeah, you guys are as close to capturing Sirius Black as you are to figuring out how someone so incompetent ever became Minister."

All nine of the Ministry officials huffed in annoyance, making Harry realize that all nine were Fudge loyalist. One of the MLES members stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger at Harry.

"Cornelius Fudge is the best Minister this country has ever seen!"

"Cornelius Fudge," Harry started, a sneer making its way on his face, "is a blustering idiot who's attention is easily captured by shiny objects. He has no backbone, no self-worth and speaks of nothing that isn't whispered into his ear first by deep-pocketed bigots!"

The MLES member raised his wand threateningly. "How dare you talk about the Minister that way."

Harry shifted his arm slightly, drawing the attention that he too held his wand in his hand. "Last I checked expressing opinion on someone, especially slander, is allowed in this country. I should know after all."

"What you're saying could be considered treason!"

"Telling the truth about how much of an idiot and corrupt man Fudge is, isn't treason. Just because you're his son, Rufus Fudge, doesn't mean you can blow something out of proportion." Susan Bones stated. "It's clear you really have no reason to be here, other than to disrupt and question this study group, which is perfectly legal."

"You know what? I don't want to deal with you guys anymore. You already took up half of our time, so from now until the end of this meeting I don't want to see you."

Harry scrunched his face up in concentration. A wall shot from the ground, separating the nine Ministry officials from the group of thirty-eight students. The students went back to finishing their meeting, trying to push what just happened to the back of their minds. The Ministry officials could only gape in shock at what had just happened. They tried to find a way around the wall but were unable to do so. They decided to wait for the meeting to end, however, unknown to them, Harry just had the room provide them with another way out. The Ministry officials waited there for three hours, until 10:30 am before giving up and leaving, not realizing the students had left two and a half hours ago.

* * *

Harry listened to all the job and career seminars and mandatory assemblies the fifth years had to partake in this weekend, making note of all the jobs that sounded interesting or like something he might want to do. He looked at the list he had made, organizing them into different categories. He had a meeting scheduled with McGonagall the next day to discuss potential career choices, as well as where he was academically and where he would need to be in order to be accepted for a chosen career, as well as discuss potential extra classes for next year.

For the Ministry, there was either being an Auror or Hit Wizard for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The first had peaked his interest since the fake-Moody had said he'd make a good one and the second one after Sirius had described it to him. There was also the Werewolf Capture Unit for the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Sounded like you had to have balls to have that job, especially since sometimes they were dispatched on the night of the full moon. However, his relationship with Remus soured him on the idea, no matter how bad-ass it sounded. The Department of Mysteries peaked his interest because he was curious to know what the department did, since the instructor had no information on the department other then 'they studied rare magics'. The last job the Ministry had that he was interested in was maybe an ambassador for the Department of Magical Cooperation, he wouldn't mind being stationed in a country like Italy or something.

Outside the Ministry there was a few jobs that peaked his interest. Professional Quidditch was always something he was interested in, whether it be at Keeper or Seeker. Dragon Keeper kind of sounded cool, and the stories he had heard from Charlie Weasley made the job seem awesome. Same thing with Curse Breaking, which Bill and Michael Patterson had made to seem like such a dangerous and adventurous career. Becoming a Slayer for the Watchers, an international organization that dealt primarily with vampires, but also handled werewolves and demons, seemed like a magical creatures version of being a Hit Wizard, so that sparked his interest. Joining the Dueling Circuit was a maybe but he doubted he wanted to continue with professional dueling after he was done with Hogwarts.

He could also become an apprentice to a master. Transfiguration was the only subject one could get a Masters in that he felt comfortable applying for apprenticeship in. He was great at Charms but not that great. Potions and Herbology were subjects he was barely passing in. He only just started learning Ancient Runes independently and wasn't confident he'd be up to par in a few years. Arithmancy he had no clue about, and he didn't have the sight so getting a masters in Divination to reach the status of Seer was just stupid. Healing wasn't something that caught his attention, besides the basics someone like a Hit Wizard would need to know. Getting a Masters in the Dark Arts was frowned upon in the United Kingdom and Care of Magical Creatures, called Magizoology, wasn't something he was interested in.

Of course getting his Masters in only one subject meant he couldn't become a Sage in the more advanced subjects. A Masters in Potions and Arithmancy, plus another year of apprenticeship could get someone one in Alchemy, while a Masters in Charms and Ancient Runes, plus another year of apprenticeship could get someone one in Enchanting. Charms and Arithmancy would lead to becoming a Spell Crafting Sage. Healing and Potions would lead to being a Medi-Wizardry Sage. Magizoology and Herbology was for Magical Naturalism Sage-ship.

Than of course there was different titles for people holding different ones. If one had a Masters in a subject, say Potions, then you were known as a Potions Master. If you were a Sage in a subject, like Alchemy, you were an Alchemy Sage. Holding three or more Masters made you a Sorcerer, while holding two or more Sage-ships made you a Warlock. Becoming a Sage in four or more subjects made you a Mage. Nicholas Flamel was the only known Mage in the pass four hundred years, having become a Sage in Alchemy, Enchanting, Magical Naturalism and Spell Crafting, but that was due to his extended period of life that allowed him to accomplish such a feat. Dumbledore was a Warlock because he was an Alchemy Sage and an Enchanting Sage.

The next day Harry was sitting in McGonagall's office, as she peered over the list of careers he was interested in.

"All of these jobs have something in common Potter, besides one. They are all dangerous career paths, except becoming an ambassador, which makes me wonder why you want to become one in the first place."

The question was rhetorical so Harry didn't reply. He tried to get a peak at the folder his Head of House had opened on her desk but the professor was sitting in such a way that her arms blocked his view.

"Guess I'm an adrenaline junkie," Harry murmured, slightly embarrassed.

"Mhmm. Let's see where you are academically and what you'll need to achieve on your OWLs so that you can continue with the necessary classes." McGonagall lifted up the folder, examining it closely for a few moments. "You have a 100 in Defense, a 98 in Transfiguration, a 93 in Charms and a 92 in Care of Magical Creatures. You stayed the same in Defense and Creatures but managed to move up eight points in Transfiguration and five in Charms. All of those grades are O worthy, with two of them being O+ worthy, and will get you into the NEWT level classes."

"That's great news!" Harry exclaimed, grinning widely. That studying with Sirius and Remus during the summer had really paid off in Transfiguration and Charms it seemed.

McGonagall stared at him from over the folder for a second before looking back down. "Yes indeed. Herbology and Astronomy are both at 84, a six and five point increase respectively. Such a grade will be good enough for you to continue in Herbology if you so wish. Astronomy is dropped at the end of this year. Potions you have only a 77, a four point increase from where you were at the end of last year. While that is still an OWL grade, it won't be enough to get you into Professor Snape's class since he only accepted students with an EE+ or higher. You'll need to really study hard for the Potions OWL if you want to get into the NEWT class."

"I don't think I'd like to continue with Potions. The subject just isn't for me."

"And I'm sure the Professor has nothing to do with it," McGonagall muttered. "You're Divination grade has risen seven points to a paltry 60 and your History of Magic grade has actually fallen eight points to a terrible 55. That makes your overall grade an 83 and ranks you 17th in your year."

Harry frowned at the news. He had only risen three points overall and two places in the standings. Not anything like he had promised Sirius and not anything like he had hoped to achieve. He had improved or stayed the same in all classes except one, yet somehow his grade wasn't that much better than it use to be.

"If you don't wish to continue with Potions then you cannot become an Auror or part of the Department of Mysteries, since a NEWT in that class is required for both of them. You can't be a Curse Breaker without taking Ancient Runes, so unless you have enough independent study in that subject to take the OWL without having taken the class, I think that career can be crossed off the list."

Harry admitted that while he was learning some Ancient Runes, it wasn't enough for him to take the OWL in the subject.

"Joining the Dueling Circuit and playing professional Quidditch don't require any NEWTs, but even if you do want to go down one of those career paths, I still recommend passing your OWLs and graduating Hogwarts with some NEWTs under your belt."

"Of course professor. I wouldn't dream of leaving Hogwarts without getting at least four NEWTs."

"That's good. Any other careers you listed you might want to cross off?"

Harry thought about it, remembering what had attracted him to some jobs and what had turned him off. "Werewolf Capture Unit, Dragon Keeper and joining the Dueling Circuit."

McGonagall used a quill to scratch off the career choices and looked over his list again. "That leaves you with Hit Wizard, Ambassador, professional Quidditch and Slayer."

Harry nodded his head, sounded about right.

"You also listed that you might want to apprentice yourself to a Transfiguration Master in order to get your own Masters. What about Charms or Magizoology? Your grades suggest you could get a Masters in either one of those. I know several Transfiguration Masters who are also Charms Masters that I'm sure would be happy to take you on as an apprentice in two years."

Harry scratched the back of his head. "To be honest ma'am after Hogwarts I don't want to spend another year studying and learning something. I just want to get a job and get right into the thick of things for a few years before taking off some time to get my Masters. I just listed it because it was something I was interested in."

"I see." The professor gazed at him in disappointment for a second. "Then let us focus on the three jobs you might want to choose that actually require NEWTs and the side classes we offer. If you want to work for the Ministry then you will need to take the class Magical Law that will become available to you next year. The class is also recommended to all those who are the heirs or heads of their family, which you are. If you wish to become a Slayer, you must take the fencing class we offer for sixth and seventh years. Sword fighting is an important ability for a Slayer.

"You won't be able to take Constructing and Breaking since that class is the only new class with a prerequisite, which is that you pass the Ancient Runes OWL. The other classes we offer are Healing, the Mind Arts and Business Management. Here's a pamphlet on the courses, so you can get a better idea on them."

Harry looked over the material Professor McGonagall gave him, reading up on each of the classes. Magical Law sounded interesting and was a requirement for anyone who wanted to work in the Ministry, so that was a necessity. Fencing sounded awesome because it wasn't just standard fencing with a foil, sabre and epee. It also taught someone the use of katanas, broadswords, cutlass, scimitar and daggers.

Healing was required for all those who wished to become a Healing Master, and actually started the person on the path to becoming one. It taught basic and moderate healing spells, as well as the use of potions, balms and creams in proper healing. Constructing and Breaking was actually Ward Constructing and Curse Breaking, for all those who either wanted to erect or bring down wards for a living. The Mind Arts taught students Occlumency and the beginning stages of Legilimency. Business Management was just that; it taught kids how to manage a business by going over taxes, supply and demand, managing a budget, setting market price, inflation and advertising amongst other things.

Harry couldn't foresee himself taking any of those classes. He wasn't going to own a business, he wouldn't have the Ancient Runes OWL prerequisite, he already knew Occlumency and the deluxe healing kit he got from Sirius taught him enough spells to keep himself alive until getting real medical attention.

"What are the minimum and maximum classes required for next year?"

"You must have at least four NEWT classes but can only have seven at the most. You must take at least one of the extra classes but can not take more then four. As for the minimum requirement of classes for your sixth and seventh years, that number is six, while the maximum is ten," Professor McGonagall explained.

Harry thought it over. He would probably take DADA, Charms, Transfiguration and Care of Magical Creatures for his NEWT classes and Magical Law and Fencing for his extra classes, giving him six total. That would give him enough time to train on the side.

"I'll probably only take Magical Law and Fencing next year."

The head of Gryffindor nodded her head in acknowledgment. "Of course you still have till July 31st to make your decision but its good to have some idea of what you are going to do."

"Thanks for helping me narrow my choices down Professor," Harry stated.

"You have a bright future in front of you Mr. Potter. No matter what path you choose I'm sure nothing but success will meet you."

Harry smiled warmly at his head of house, who was probably his favorite professor, no offense to Hagrid. "Let's hope so."

* * *

It had been fourteen days since they first questioned Nott and Zabini. They had questioned Barry Chalke, a sixth year Slytherin and his best friend Tyler Stebbins from Hufflepuff, ten days ago. Neither were involved in the attack but both were Voldemort sympathizers and had approached Draco Malfoy about becoming Death Eaters. Five days ago they had questioned Duane Sidora, a seventh year Ravenclaw who was the heir to the Shankman family and the grandson of Antonin Dolohov. The teen was already a Death Eater but he wasn't one of the attackers. Harry was at a lost of what to do with an admitted Death Eater who wasn't an attacker; deciding to just let him go.

He had just gone over his plan to question Rookwood, Rowle and Warrington next with Hermione, Ron and Neville. Fred and George had given him a piece of parchment with the three older Slytherins schedules written on it, as well as the Slytherin Quidditch practice schedule, since all three were on the team. Harry knew for a fact that the Slytherin team was practicing hard since Gryffindor's trouncing of Hufflepuff last week had given the Lions a five hundred point lead over the Slytherins and Ravenclaws, who still had to play their second games of the year against each other.

Hermione gave Harry a look, staring right into his eyes. "Remember, no violence at all this time."

"I promise," Harry swore, holding up a hand.

"Good. I'm going back to the common room."

"I should be up in a bit," Ron muttered. "Just gotta finish up this stupid potions essay."

"Same," Harry and Neville stated morosely.

The bushy-haired witch gathered her books before turning and leaving. Harry watched her go and stared at the library door after she walked through it for several moments. Adrian Pucey left the library about thirty seconds or so after Hermione did and something started going off in Harry's head. He bit his lip, desperately trying to put the pieces together. Way back at the end of October, when he had eavesdropped on that Junior Death Eaters meeting, he had recognized the leader's voice. He recognized it because a few days earlier that voice had been screaming curses at him as they dueled to see who the best duelist in Hogwarts was.

"Pucey," Harry breathed out, standing quickly. Neville and Ron looked up at Harry in confusion. "Adrian Pucey is the leader of the attackers and he just followed Hermione out of the library!"

The Boy-Who-Lived took off running, Neville and Ron jumping to their feet and following. Pince started to yell at them about running in her library but Harry cut her off, yelling louder than her. "Alert Dumbledore! Hermione's in danger!"

How could he have been so stupid? Five people had been attacked, including a Ravenclaw that had been savagely beaten while Harry was away for the dueling tournament. That was five people who could have been saved so much pain if he had just used his brain all those months ago. And even now, it took him several minutes after Hermione left the library for his brain to put the pieces together. Who knew what could happen in those two or three minutes.

The library corridor led to the main staircase of Hogwarts but Harry doubted they'd let her get that far. A right turn would go to the Charms corridor, where Flitwick had his office so it would be stupid to go down there. A left turn would lead to a corridor that eventually brought you to the staircase that went up to the owlery. Something only used five or six times a day.

He made a quick left, Ron and Neville trailing behind him. He felt the silencing and repelling wards that were erected to keep people out of the corridor but Harry's magic flared around him and shattered the wards easily. He spotted the group in front of him, standing over a prone figure. He raced forward, Ron and Neville trailing behind him.

One of them leaned down and started tugging on something and Harry felt his magic roar within him as his fury spiked. He didn't even speak a word, just held up his wand, which buckled under the power of the magic leaving it. The raw beam of light slammed into the back of one of the Junior Death Eaters, launching him forward and into two of his comrades. The group turned around as Neville and Ron launched their own spells, blocking the jets of light easily.

The Death Eaters returned fire, which Harry managed to deflect with a wave of his wand. He moved forward, using his wand and body to avoid the spells being launched at him. Ron and Neville moved behind him, blocking the spells Harry dodged and launched a few of their own. The Boy-Who-Lived ducked low and shot a fast moving jet of light out of his wand. The spell clipped one of the Junior Death Eaters in the face at the same time Neville clipped one in the ribs with a bludgeoner.

"Fuck this!"

One of the Junior Death Eaters turned and ran, prompting the others to follow in his wake. They left the one Harry had hit in the beginning on the ground, where Harry's magic had knocked him down. The three Gryffindors tried to stop them but their spells were easily blocked before the ten hooded figures turned around the corner and out of sight.

Harry immediately rushed to Hermione's side, dropping unto his knees and examining her with wild eyes. Her face was swollen from cheek to cheek with a large gash on her right side. Her two front teeth, which she had been so proud of when Madam Pomfrey had shrunken them down last year, were knocked out. Her blouse was torn open, revealing her bra clad chest to the world, which was heavily bruised. Her left side was heavily bruised as well and it appeared as if her left arm was broken. Her skirt was hiked up and her knickers were halfway down her thighs, which was probably what Harry had seen them tugging at. There was some bruising along her legs but not nearly as bad as her torso and face.

Taking off his robe, Harry covered Hermione with it, noticing her robe was torn to shreds several feet from her body. He stood up, a glint of something catching his eye. A broken silver chain with a rat pendant hanging from it lay on the ground. It must have been what Pettigrew gave to the Junior Death Eaters to hide them from the Marauder's Map. Taking out the map, he activated it and saw the name Kenneth Towler as being the person closest to their location and that the older teen was making his way quickly to the Gryffindor common room.

Ron and Neville, who had seen Harry hovering possessively over Hermione, moved toward the downed attacker. Ron ripped off the mask, revealing the face of Connor Rookwood, nephew of recent Azkaban-escapee Augustus Rookwood. He growled out, kick the unconscious teen in the side twice before Neville pulled him back.

"We got him Ron," Neville soothed. "Let the Dementors deal with him in Azkaban"

"Who is it?" Harry asked, standing up.

"Connor Rookwood," Ron muttered.

"Neville stay here with Rookwood. Ron bring Hermione to the Hospital Wing, get in contact with somewhere there and tell them where Neville is," Harry ordered.

"Where are you going to go?" Ron asked.

"I know who one of the other attackers is. He's a fucking Gryffindor. I'm going to kick his ass."

Harry took off at a light jog that worked its way up to a full out sprint. He reached the Gryffindor dorms four minutes later, panting lightly.

"Lion's pride."

The portrait swung open, revealing that most of the Gryffindors had stopped wandering the halls and had retired back to the warmth of the common room. Harry stepped in, scanning for Towler, who he couldn't find in the crowded room. He started walking forward, keeping his eyes moving until something by the boys staircase caught his eye. Towler came running down the stairs, a cloak wrapped around his shoulders, as he shoved something into his pocket. The seventh year stopped upon spotting Harry, who's gaze seemed to burn a hole through his forehead.

Towler's hand went for his wand in his pocket, but Harry had been moving upon first spotting the older teen. Before Towler's wand was fully out of his pocket, Harry tackled the Junior Death Eater into the staircase, where his body slammed into the stone steps. Harry brought his fist back and punched the older Gryffindor one, two, three and finally four times in the face. Kenneth's nose shattered on the first punch, Harry's lower knuckles of his index and ring finger broke on the third punch and Kenneth's left eye socket fractured on the fourth.

"Merlin's beard Harry!" Fred shouted, as he and George hauled the Boy-Who-Lived off his target.

"What the hell you doing Harry?" George demanded.

Towler, clutching his face in obvious pain, jumped to his feet and violently shouldered his way through the crowd of gathered Gryffindors. Harry struggled against the two older teens who held him, desperate to cause the Junior Death Eater more pain.

"Let me go!" Harry hollered. "He's one of the attackers! He hurt Hermione!"

Dean, who was closest to the escaping Towler, immediately threw himself at the older teen, knocking him to the ground. Seamus rushed to help his friend and together they subdued the older teen, making sure his wand was out of his grasp and in the hands of a first year.

Harry was released by the twins, who muttered apologies about stopping him from giving the teen the beating they thought he deserved. It was at that moment that the portrait hole opened and Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and two Hit Wizards walked into the room. Dumbledore saw Dean and Seamus subduing Towler and looked to Harry, his eyebrow raised. Harry nodded his head, and with a wave of his hand, the two Hit Wizards moved pass Dumbledore and handcuffed the Junior Death Eater.

"Madame Pince contacted me as you left the library. I came upon Mr. Weasley on his way to the hospital wing and he told me where Mr. Longbottom was. Mr. Rookwood is under Hit Wizard custody and several Hit Wizards have been dispatched to arrest Mr. Pucey," Dumbledore explained softly, though Harry could still hear him from across the common room.

Harry walked forward, pressing the rat pendant he had found into the wrinkled hands of the Headmaster. "Look for those who possess this."

Dumbledore nodded his head before directing the Hit Wizards out of the room. Professor McGonagall started to explain exactly what had happened to the gathered Gryffindors. Harry didn't wait to hear it, having been a part of the entire thing, and instead followed the Headmaster out of the common room.

The walk to the hospital wing was long and quiet as he got lost in his thoughts the entire way there. Upon entering the room, he saw that Hermione was in a bed closest to Madam Pomfrey's office. Neville and Ron occupied the two chairs around her, both of them turning upon his entrance to the room. Neville stood up, offering Harry his chair, but the Boy-Who-Lived brushed pass him and sat on the side of her bed. He grabbed the bushy-haired witch's uninjured hand in both of his and stared at her.

"Madam Pomfrey said she'd be fine in two weeks. Broken nose, cheek bones and both bones in her forearm. Three of her ribs are fractured. Madam Pomfrey said we stopped them before they could actually..." Ron trailed off, disgust and anger in his voice.

"I should have realized it was Pucey all those months ago. People were hurt because of my stupidity," Harry murmured.

"Come on Harry, you can't put that on you. All you had was body sizes and a voice. No one could identify people they barely see and have only heard once based on that information," Neville placated.

"Maybe."

They say in silence for ten minutes before the door to the room opened and Dumbledore entered the room. He approached the four Gryffindors in silence, looking over Hermione. "Mr. Pucey has fled the grounds, along with several other Slytherins, two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff."

"Fuck!"

Dumbledore didn't say anything about Ron's choice of words.

"Who were the others?" Neville asked.

"Fleet Herbert from Hufflepuff. Marcus Belby and Jason Samuels from Ravenclaw. Miles Bletchley, Caden Warrington, Dexter Harper, Quinn Rowle and Vincent Crabbe of Slytherin."

Ron snorted in bitter irony. "And we were going to question Rookwood, Warrington and Rowle tomorrow. We were right on all three."

The Headmaster looked curiously between the three students, wondering what they were talking about. When neither of the teens said anything else, he merely put his hand comfortingly on Harry's shoulder before turning and leaving the room.

Harry cursed quietly, looking at Ron and Neville. "Derek is Dexter's younger brother."

"I forgot about that," Neville admitted, thinking of the fourth year Slytherin who had joined their training sessions two weeks ago.

"You don't think..." Ron looked at Harry, a questioning look on his face.

"We'll figure it out tomorrow," Harry replied.

The door to the hospital wing burst open, the three Gryffindor males having their wands pointed at the doorway an instant later. Justin Finch-Fletchley skidded to a halt upon spotting the three threatening gazes and the three wands pointed at his chest. He held up his hands and walked forward slowly, as Harry, Ron and Neville put their wands away and turned their gazes back to Hermione.

"Sorry about startling you guys like that but I just heard about Hermione. How is she?"

Harry turned his head toward Justin, having forgotten that the Hufflepuff was Hermione's boyfriend. "She's alright. Madame Pomfrey said she'll be fine in about two weeks."

Justin looked between Harry and his hands, where he was still grasping both of Hermione's. Giving his best friend a slight squeeze, Harry slowly let go of her hand and sat up from his spot.

A/N: Purebloods make up about fifty percent of the Wizarding population. Half-bloods make up around thirty percent and muggleborns make up around twenty percent. In Harry's year there are forty-one students; eight muggleborns, eleven half-bloods and twenty-two purebloods. The whole "muggleborns are taking over our world thing" is because at the start of the 1900's it was eighty-five percent purebloods, ten percent half-bloods and five percent muggleborns. When Voldemort rose to power it was seventy percent purebloods, twenty percent half-bloods and ten percent muggleborns. So the drop of fifteen percent frightened the fundamentalist purebloods, and the drop of twenty percent frightened even more. Though Voldemort is the cause of that twenty percent drop from 1965-1980. The Wizarding worlds population dropped by fifteen percent in the time period.


	14. Politics

Potterdownthestreet – In canon the purebloods are in the minority. In my story they are in the dwindling majority and feel threatened. Its much like in the United States where whites have been the majority for ages but now sometime in the next decade whites will no longer be the majority but in fact a minority just like all the other races. The purebloods have always held the power in the wizarding society but they are dwindling in numbers and half-bloods and muggleborns are rising. Some are backing Voldemort because they hope that if they can't keep their status of majority, then a government that gives them all the power will be in place so it doesn't matter if they happen to dip into the minority. Others are backing Voldemort because they think if they kill a bunch of muggleborns, then they will stay in the majority.

Also please forgive me for my poor attempts at writing accents in this story. The way Hagrid, Dobby, Fleur and everyone else speak is something I am not good at.

Chapter 14 Politics

Harry waited outside the room of requirement as people shuffled pass him. His fellow Gryffindors first, as usual, since they were closest to the room. Then came the Ravenclaws, walking in groups of three and fours. Next the Hufflepuffs showed up, walking in one big group. The four Slytherins were last and they approached him warily, as if afraid he was going to lash out at them. Word had spread rapidly about what had happened last night.

He didn't really look at them as they walked passed him and into the room. Except Derek Harper; he placed his arm out and stopped the fourth year from joining everyone else. The teen turned toward him, his face anxious.

"I'm not my brother," Derek stated.

Harry didn't look at the teen, making it seem like he didn't even know the teen was there. Vaguely he responded with: "Never said you were."

"If I'd have known, I would have told you! My mom is a half-blood and she doesn't approve of this blood supremacy thing. Not like my dad and Dexter do. She is the one that raised me, since my dad didn't need a second son, just his first one to be his heir. I don't want to be a Death Eater like Dexter."

Harry remained silent, staring at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy for several moments. He could see out of the corner of his eye the Slytherin's pleading look. He supposed if he really wanted he could douse the Slytherin in truth potions and erase his memory afterwards. However, he didn't want to be as paranoid as Moody when it came to trusting people he had trusted before, not yet at least.

"I trust you Derek. Just don't give me reason not to."

The Slytherin looked relieved but didn't have a chance to voice his gratitude because a commotion down the hallway caught their attention.

"Not this toad again," Harry groaned. "I don't want to deal with this. Let's get inside before she comes over here."

Umbridge and her eight lackeys were coming down the hallway. Harry ushered Derek into the Room of Requirement, thinking about how he didn't want anyone from the Ministry entering and interrupting their training. When Umbridge came upon the section of wall where the door was supposed to be, she found nothing but blank wall and try as she might, she couldn't make a door appear.

* * *

The grounds of Hogwarts were covered in almost two feet of snow, blanketing the large open fields in enough of the white powder for a house-elf to hide in. Harry and Ron trudged through the snow, making their way to Hagrid's hut. Harry was going to be completing his animagus formation and it was decided that Hagrid's hut was probably the best place to do it. Sirius and Remus would be meeting him down there, and Hagrid was happy enough to be trusted with something so big.

Harry knocked on the door to the cabin, which opened immediately. The black haired and red haired teens entered into the dim room, noticing that the large table that generally occupied the middle of the room was missing, as were the chairs that surrounded it. The curtains on the windows had been pulled shut and spelled to make sure no one could see into the hut. Hagrid sat on his bed, where he held Fang in his lap, petting the large dog on the top of its head. Sirius and Remus stood in the middle of the room, drawing a circle on the floor in blood.

"What the hell is that?" Ron asked upon spotting what the two Marauders were doing.

Remus didn't look up as he completed the circle. "Containment circle, made of dragon's blood. We didn't do this when Sirius, James and Peter first went through the process. James almost gored Peter and Sirius almost ripped out my throat."

"When you first transform, you are the animal. There is no human in you. In a room full of humans you will panic and become violent and defensive. This containment circle will make sure you can't harm any of us."

Sirius grabbed Harry's arm and brought him into the circle as he spoke. He handed Harry the potion he would need to complete the transformation before stepping out of the circle. As soon as the older animagus was out of the ring of dragon's blood, Remus tapped it with his wand, muttering under his breath. The blood flashed a bright gold before simmering to a glowing white. Harry went to stick his hand outside the circle but found it blocked by a invisible wall.

"What if my animal is bigger then this circle?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

Sirius looked at Remus, who merely shrugged. "Let's pray it isn't."

Harry looked between the two of them with some anxiousness but they ignored him. Ron walked over and joined Hagrid on the bed, staring at Harry with fascination. He was close to taking the potion to seeing if he could become an animagus himself, and he was rather excited to see the final step in the process.

"Wha' animal do you think you'll become 'arry?" Hagrid asked.

"Probably a bird," Harry answered. "I do love flying."

"Wouldn't it be sweet to be something big and scary?" Ron asked, grinning.

"Sneak up on Malfoy in a dark corridor and make him pee his pants?" Harry shot back, chuckling.

"You know," Remus started, interrupting Ron's response, "we could stop speculating and know the answer if you would just take the potion."

"Cheers then Remus!" Harry cried, putting the goblet containing the potion in the air in front of him before bringing it to his lips and tossing it back. He cringed at the awful taste but swallowed the entire thing before tossing the empty goblet to the ground.

He sat down, not wanting to face plant it to the ground like he did last time he took one of the animagus potions. He stared at Sirius in surprise for a second before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started spazzing.

"Cor' blimey," Hagrid murmured, staring at the teen with sympathy.

"Does it hurt?" Ron asked, as Harry's body started changing into something not his own.

"A lot," Sirius answered simply.

They watched for five minutes as Harry's body twisted and turned into another form, before finally stopping. In front of them was a tiger with black fur, white stripes and bright green eyes. It stared at them all, growling deep in its throat before launching itself forward. The tiger slammed into the invisible wall, shaking its head before trying to attack them again. It didn't understand why it couldn't move forward pass a certain point and so tried to attack them several times before laying down, eying them all warily.

"Someone's gonna have a headache," Remus noted.

Ron chuckled. "How long does the transformation last?"

"Ten minutes." Sirius responded. "Remus, wanna get some measurements on him?"

Remus shrugged his shoulders, withdrawing his wand and flicking it at the tiger. The tiger freaked out and started thrashing around the small containment area after the jet of light hit it. Harry growled loudly, bearing his teeth at Remus.

A small strip of paper popped into Remus' hands, and the werewolf whistled as he read. "Nine and a halt feet long, including the tale. He's three feet tall and a 225 kg (495 lbs)."

"That's a hefty kitty."

"He's almost twice the length and more than three times heavier then you Sirius."

Sirius pouted at his friend. "So? I'm still better."

"Ow." They turned to Harry, who lay on the ground in his human form, in the fetal position clutching his head. "My head hurts. My body too."

Remus prodded the ring of dragon's blood with his wand, causing the containment field to fail. He nodded to Hagrid, who quickly stood off his bed and approached the teen.

"I got some potions for yeh 'arry," Hagrid stated, holding out two vials.

"Ones a pain reliever to numb the pain your body is experiencing from going through the transformation for the first time. The other is for the headache you got from ramming into the containment shield a bunch of times," Remus explained.

Harry quickly downed both vials of liquid, looking at Remus inquisitively. "How do you know I'd need the headache one?"

"A wild animal trapped in an invisible cage? Bound to run into it a lot because the animals doesn't understand why it can't move forward so it will keep trying."

Harry allowed Hagrid to haul him to his feet; the half-giant only needing his index finger to do so. He was led over to the large man's bed, where he was hefted up and plopped down, as if he couldn't do it himself. Ron was smirking at Hagrid's treatment of Harry, as if the teen was made of glass.

"So what am I?"

"A bloody tiger mate!"

Harry looked at Ron, a grin forming on his face. "Really?"

"Would I lie about something like that? You got black fur and white stripes, I've never seen anything like it! Its way wicked! "

The two teens high-five'd, wide smiles on each of their faces. Ron looked excited at the prospect of his own animagus form, while Harry was pumped at his own form.

"Tigers represent war and nobility in Ancient Chinese," Remus noted.

"Tigers also represent badass-ness," Harry quipped, grinning.

Sirius chuckled as he walked over and ruffled his godson's hair. Remus cleaned the blood off the ground and placed several small items on the ground. With a switch of his wand, Hagrid's table was back to its normal side, and even had yesterday's paper still sitting on it.

"Wha' are yeh goin' to do about these new anti-werewolf laws Remus?"

Harry interrupted before Remus could answer. "They'll get revoked."

Remus looked at the teen in some surprise. "How can you be so sure?"

The Boy-Who-Lived shrugged his shoulders. "As soon as Fudge signed them I called into question the laws and now a Wizengamot meeting is being held; three days from now right after the trial for Connor Rookwood and Kenneth Towler."

"Why so soon?" Ron asked, confused. "Usually such things take several weeks before a session is called."

Sirius slammed his hand onto the table. "Fudge doesn't want to give Harry and Dumbledore time to rally support against these laws. He wants no opposition."

"Fat lot of good that's going to do him. Dumbledore knew about these laws two weeks ago and alerted me about them two days ago. I've set up meetings with Augusta Longbottom, Martin Boot and Hajari Patil to try to get them and their supporters to back us up. Then I'm going to meet with Amelia Bones, Ping Chang, Christian Goldstein, Dixon Carmichael, Oswald Spinnet, Templeton Vane, and Ignatius Weasley to make sure they understand what these laws mean to werewolves and our society."

"You should probably set up meetings with Lord Anwell, Lord Heilyn, Lord Mostyn, Lord Gwyther and Lord Rhydderch. "

Harry looked at his godfather curiously. "Who are all those guys?"

"You didn't think it was just the Bones who pledged their support to your family did you? Those five are the Lords of Wales who have pledged their support to the Potters, as the only Noble and Ancient family from Wales. Most of the Noble and Ancient families are from Britain, except for the Potters from Wales and the McKinnons from Ireland."

"Who do the Longbottoms, Boots and Patils have supporting them?" Harry asked. "Dumbledore wants me to get their support so I might as well see who else's support I'm suppose to be getting.

"The Longbottoms, who have always lived on the border of Britain and Scotland, have the Changs and four of the Seven Major Clans of Scotland; Macrath of the Macrae Clan, Gregory of the Macgregor Clan, Abbott of the Macnab Clan and Burns of the Lamont Clan. The Boots, who live on the Isle of Man have the Irish Lords Lord Dempsey, Lord MacNulty and Lord Woulfe, and the Lords of Wales Lord Astley and Lord Wynne. The Patils, who live just outside of London, have the support of Lord Vane and Lord Spinnet of Britain, and Lord Cassidy and Lord O'Keene of Ireland."

"Who is Dumbledore getting?" Ron asked, surprisingly interested in the pureblood political talk. His oldest uncle, head of the Weasley family. was without a male heir and would be passing down headship of the family down to one of his nephews in a few years. Unfortunately for Ron that didn't just include him and his five brothers but his other Uncle's three sons as well.

"The McKinnons, the Diggorys and as many neutral families as he can. He said there are seventeen minor families who haven't pledged their support to one of the Ancient and Noble families but eight of them are Fudge supporters so who knows how this will go. He is also talking to the ten elected half-bloods and muggleborns."

"So that's," Ron did the quick calculations in his head, "four Ancient and Noble families, and twenty minor families."

"Plus the McKinnons, Diggorys and the eight minor families they have," Remus added.

"Still that's only six Ancient and Noble families and twenty-eight minor ones. Doesn't seem like enough considering there are seven other Ancient and Noble families and forty-seven minor ones," Ron pointed out.

"I know Lucius Malfoy has had a backing in this, so that means the Notts, Lestranges, Rookwoods, Vaiseys and Montaques and all their minor families will back it because their all Voldemort supporters. Who knows with the Ministry, we should put them on the other side just to be safe. That has a lot against us," Harry said, agreeing with Ron and suddenly not so sure in their ability to revoke the laws.

"Don't forget the wild card in all this. As the heir to the Black family, you are the interim head of the Black family, since I am currently indisposed. I doubt many of their supporters will back you up but the Greengass family is generally a neutral family, as well as Lord Saunders of the Macalister Clan. Plus you are now Lord Kingston as well, whose usual backing of the Lestrange family you will want to revoke. Seven Ancient and Noble families, thirty-four minor families, Amelia Bones and Amos Diggory as two Ministry Department Heads and the ten elected members? You might have a shot."

"Yeah but just because someone has pledged to support a certain family doesn't mean they always side with them. You still have to do some convincing," Remus added, trying to remind them that not many would vote in favor of a werewolf.

Hagrid looked confused at all the talk about pureblood support and loyalty, having never dealt with something like that before. "Wha' is all this talk 'bout?"

"The Wizengamot Hagrid." Hagrid just looked at Harry confused, never having to deal with the Wizengamot in such intimate details before. "There are thirteen Ancient and Noble families; the Potters, the Longbottoms, the Boots, the Patils, the McKinnons, the Diggorys, the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Notts, the Rookwoods, the Vaiseys, the Montaques and the Lestranges."

"How come they're the Ancient and Noble?"Hagrid asked.

Harry looked at Sirius, having no idea. "When the Wizengamot was formed in the 1300's it was decided that the families with proven magical blood going back eleven or more generations would be the Ancient and Noble. Those who had between four and ten generations would be minor families."

"Righ' wha'swith the support you guys are talking 'bout then?"

Sirius, who had grown up being trained to be a pureblood lord, decided to take control of the education of Hagrid. "The Potters and the Malfoys have the most with six each. The Blacks, Boots and Longbottoms have five each. The rest, besides the Vaiseys, only have four each; the Vaiseys only have three. These families have pledged to support their respective Ancient and Noble families in their politics."

"How many votes do you need to get something changed?" Ron inquired.

"You need sixty-five votes."

"Looks like I got some work to do," Harry muttered.

"Yeah, but at least you have a bloody awesome animagus form."

* * *

Lord Broderick Anwell was a tall and strong man in his mid-forties. He had black hair that reached his shoulders and a full beard that covered the lower half of his face. He had a hooked nose and large brown eyes. He didn't seem like a graceful person but his body screamed power, both physical and magical.

Lord Rhodri Heilyn was a fifty-something year old man of average height with a round body. His face was covered with a short, blond beard and long curly blond hair fell to just above his shoulders. He had small bright blue eyes and a jovial demeanor. He reminded many of a young Santa, both in looks and personality.

Lady Eirwyn Mostyn, the youngest and just recent head of her family, was a plain looking young woman in her late-twenties. She had full blond hair that fell to just above her bum. She was small, several inches shorter than Harry himself, with a petite frame. She had sharp dark blue eyes and her facial expression made one believe her tongue was just as sharp as her eyes looked.

Lord Heddwyn Gwyther, the oldest member of the five, was close to a hundred years old. He was of average height with prominent wrinkles at the corner of his mouth and eyes, as well as his forehead. His hair was a mixture of brown and gray, swept back in a ponytail that went all the way to his mid-back. He had hazel eyes that shined with wisdom.

Lord Kynan Rhydderch, a man of short stature and a bald head, was most likely in his sixties or early seventies. His face lacked the laugh lines one expected to see in a wizard of his age, showing that the man rarely found joy in things. He had bushy brown eyebrows, which was the only hair upon his entire head.

They all wore tailor-made robes of the finest silk, the family crest of their respective families sitting on their left breast. Those who had hair had it neatly groomed and they all looked the very essence of nobility they were. Harry, who wore dress slacks and a buttoned up shirt underneath an opened silk robe with his family crest on the left breast, felt under dressed compared to them, even though it wasn't so. His hair was as messy as usual, refusing to be tamed even by that sleak-easy stuff Hermione had used on her wild-mane last year.

"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice." Harry tried to remember the few lessons Sirius had tried to give him on dealing with pureblood lords.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet the new head of the Most Ancient and Noble family of Wales," Lord Gwyther answered. The others voiced their agreement, even if Lord Rhydderch and Lady Mostyn didn't seem to approve of his hair.

"I wish it could have been under better circumstances but I'm afraid I need your help." Harry stated. "As you should know there is a Wizengamot session being held in two days time about the integrity of the recent Werewolf laws that require all werewolves to be collared with a tracking charm. I don't think I need to tell you why such a thing shouldn't be allowed."

"Werewolves are dangerous creatures Mr. Potter," Rhydderch pointed out.

Harry frowned at the short Lord. "I can agree they are but only on twelve nights a year."

Heilyn leaned forward and placed his elbow on the table in front of him. "Fenrir Greyback has been terrorizing our society since the 1950's!"

"Yes and I'm sure Greyback will waltz into the Ministry and allow himself to be collared!" Harry had to refrain himself from sneering, remembering that these Lords and Lady were his allies.

"Mr. Potter is right," Gwyther murmured, leaning back in his chair. "The law is being passed because of certain werewolves and they aren't the ones who will be affected by it."

"I agree Lord Gwyther. However, Lord Potter it is clear who is passing this law and why it is being passed in the first place. By going against this law we could be making ourselves targets of You-Know-Who."

Harry looked at Lord Anwell, trying to hide the shock that was making its way onto his face. "You know Voldemort is back?"

"Don't say his name!" Heilyn hissed out, his jovial demeanor vanishing in an instant.

Lord Anwell let out a deep chuckle that reverberated around the room. "We aren't stupid Lord Potter."

"Then why don't you convince the Ministry he is back as well?"

"I said we aren't stupid Lord Potter. I spoke nothing of the intelligence of the Ministry."

"I'm sorry Lord Anwell, its just frustrating knowing that in order to combat Vold..." They all winced and hissed at him beginning to use Voldemort's name again. "Sorry. In order to combat You-Know-Who, I have to do it in fear of my own Ministry, which should be adding me not restricting me!"

"I will help you Lord Potter, with repealing this law and in your fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Just like I have helped your father and your grandfather in the sixty years I have been the head of my family."

"Thank you Lord Gwyther, I appreciate the show of support."

"Aye, I agree with Lord Gwyther. The Anwell family has supported the Potters since before the Wizengamot was even created. I will help you repeal this law and my family will help you in this war. I am a Hit Wizard Lord Potter, in case you didn't know, as is both my younger brothers and my son. When ever you are need of our assistance just owl me, or get in touch with my sister's son, Geoffrey Hooper. He's a fellow Gryffindor in the year above you."

Harry nodded, knowing of Geoffrey Hooper. The teen had tried out for the Quidditch team this year but Harry had beaten him out to the Keeper position. The teen was supposed to be the best at Defense and Charms out of the sixth years. Fred and George said he was a bit of a whiner but was a decent bloke over all. His father was a muggle, if Harry remembered correctly, a powerful lawyer in the muggle world.

"Thank you for your offer of support Lord Anwell."

"Not a problem lad."

"You have the support of the Heilyn family, you always have."

"Same with the Rhydderch family."

"Thank you Lord Heilyn and Lord Rhydderch. This means a lot to me."

They both waved away his thanks. The four minor Lords turned toward Lady Mostyn, who watched them all apprehensively.

"As the last of the Mostyn, I have to make sure my family lives on. By showing my support for you Lord Potter, I put myself and therefor my family line in danger."

"I can offer you anything you need Lady Mostyn. Wards to protect your house, bodyguards to defend you from harm. Anything at all."

"Just a promise Lord Potter. That when help is needed, you will be there."

Harry sat in silence for a few moments. He was the youngest by a dozen years and was expected to be the one to act as a buffer for the others against the Dark Lord and the political power of Lucius Malfoy. He supposed, as the head of the more powerful family it was his duty to protect those who supported him, still it was weird hearing these older, powerful people asking him to defend them.

"Of course Lady Mostyn," Harry uttered, staring her in the eye.

"Then you have my support as well."

* * *

"I don't even know what the debate is," Martin Boot all but shouted. "They were caught in the act! Eyewitnesses including Lord Potter here, have given their testimony of exactly what happened under the influence of veritaserum. What more evidence do we need?"

Marian Rookwood scowled at the head of the Boot family. "Clearly they were influenced by outside forces as I know my son would never act like so!" Harry had to suppress the snort that fought to escape. "Not to mention we have no proof that they were involved in the earlier attacks, and the girl they attacked shouldn't even be a part of this society!"

Harry growled low in his throat, glaring at Lord Rookwood. Listening to the bigotry of the six dark Ancient and Noble families, and the allowance of such talk by everyone in the room, including Dumbledore, who merely frowned at such talk, was disgusting.

"The girl attacked has just as much of a right to be in this society then Connor Rookwood and Kenneth Towler have. Probably more based on the fact that her grades have been the best seen in Hogwarts in over two decades, while both of the accused are barely passing their NEWT classes."

"How dare you!" Rookwood yelled, standing up and pointing his finger threateningly at Harry.

"Lord Rookwood, sit down this instant!" Dumbledore shouted.

The man snarled at both Dumbledore and Harry before reluctantly sitting down in his seat. Rookwood wasn't the only Lord giving him a dirty look, but Harry didn't care enough to pay attention to Lucius Malfoy and his other four comrades.

"Hermione Granger is part of this society, whether some here like it or not. That is not something to be argued. There was no trace of the Imperius Curse on either of the accused. In fact, neither of them have claimed to be under its effect until recently, which makes me question their claims."

Amelia Bones was a hard ass but she was fair and wouldn't be swayed by pureblood politics. Thats what Harry liked about her.

"Since it seems we can't discuss this case without getting into arguments, let us just call the accused back in here and hold the vote. It has been almost three hours and I'm sure the other Lords and Ladies are getting anxious to start the full Wizengamot session today."

Madame Bones motioned to the four Hit Wizards near the doors. They left the room and came back with the two teens between them. After Connor and Kenneth were seated, their faces nervous, the vote was called.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent on the account of assault and battery against Hermione Granger please raise your hand."

Ten hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty of these charges please raise you hand."

Twenty-five hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent of the attempted murder of Hermione Granger please raise you hand."

Twelve hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty of the attempted murder of Hermione Granger please raise you hand."

Twenty-three hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent of the five other cases of assault and battery please raise your hand."

Fifteen hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty of the five other cases of assault and battery please raise your hand."

Twenty hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is innocent in the five other cases of attempted murder please raise your hand."

Nineteen hands went up.

"All those who believe Connor Rookwood is guilty in the five other cases of attempted murder please raise your hand."

Eighteen hands went up.

The process was repeated for Kenneth Towler, meeting similar results. While Harry was upset they had gotten off on the attempted murder of Wayne Hopkins, Lee Jordan, Colin Creevey, Dennis Creevey and Stan Carter, the sixth year Ravenclaw who was attacked, he was still relieved there was some form of justice in the wizarding world.

"Connor Rookwood and Kenneth Towler I sentence you both to six years in Azkaban prison for the attempted murder of Hermione Granger and eighteen months in Azkaban for each charge of assault and battery against you. That is a total of fifteen years in Azkaban for the both of you, starting immediately."

The two teens protested loudly as they were led away and Lord Rookwood left in hurry, muttering angrily underneath his breath. Amelia Bones looked around at the gathered members, her eyes weary.

"I say a thirty minute lunch break is in order before the full Wizengamot session begins."

Harry got up and stretched his legs, feeling his taught muscles stretching under the action. Everyone began moving out of the room and Harry followed them. Some made there way to other areas of the Ministry to do who knows what, while others made there way into the large room that would hold the full Wizengamot meeting. The Potter seat was one of the thirteen seats that sat in front of the Chief Warlock and the two elders. In front of the thirteen Noble and Ancient families were the Ministry officials who were a part of the Wizengamot, followed by the ten elected members.

Surrounding this section was a half circle that held the seventy-five minor lords and ladies. The half circle consisted of three rows of twenty-five seats. Even at the beginning of its creation, never were all of the seats of the Wizengamot filled at once. Many times Ministry officials were pureblood lords, and it didn't help that several lines had died out.

As the Boy-Who-Lived walked to his seat, he greeted and made small talk with almost two dozen lords and ladies. Securing the last of his backers in the vote was worth the conversations he was forced to have with several of the bloated purebloods he found himself talking to. He was pretty sure the vote would go in his favor, getting rid of the prejudice law, but one could never be too certain.

"Let this session of the Wizengamot come into order," Dumbledore called after the thirty minute break, which had really been a little over thirty-five minutes. Every member of the Wizengamot was present, including Lord Rookwood, who had calmed down since the sentencing of his son. "The reason for this session is the newest law passed by the Fudge administration, Law 9853; the Werewolf Collared Law."

A scribe who sat in the middle of the room stood up, holding a piece of parchment in his hand. "Law 9853 requires that all werewolves already bitten report to the Ministry within two weeks of the passing of this law to be given a collar to be placed around their neck. This collar will not only let the public know who is a known werewolf, but it will also contain a tracking charm so the Ministry can keep an eye on the whereabouts of all werewolves at all times. There will also be a Shock Charm on it that can be activated if the werewolf in question is seen as a threat to any person, subduing the werewolf immediately. Anyone who is bitten by a werewolf has three days within the full moon they are bitten to report to the Ministry for their collar. Failure to comply with this law will result in a minimum of three years in Azkaban."

"Lord Potter, as you are the one who called this session in order, why don't you start us off."

Harry stood and nodded at Dumbledore. "Esteemed lords and ladies of the Wizengamot, the only thing this law will do is further alienate the werewolves in our society. Let's face it, the only reason there is any support for this law is because of Fenrir Greyback and the actions he has taken that lead many to fear people inflicted with lycanthropy at all times, even when they are not in their wolf form. However, Fenrir Greyback will not show up at the Ministry to allow himself to be collared and neither will any of his supporters.

"The only ones who will be affected by this law are the good human beings who twelve times a year turn into a creature they don't want to be. With the invention of Wolfsbane, most werewolves are becoming less and less of a threat to us on the days of the full moon. Why punish these poor people any further by publicly humiliating them and taking away their humanity? Being collared like an animal at all times will not be accepted by many of the peaceful werewolves in our society. It will only drive them to Greyback and the last thing we need is for his supporters to grow in number."

Harry sat down, pleased with his speech as many broke into applause. It was a lot better then the original one he had intended to given. That one had started with, "you're all fucking idiots," and ended with, "go die you inbred fuckers." However, despite how funny Sirius, Remus and Ron found it, Dumbledore and Hermione wouldn't allow him to give it. Thus he was forced to come up with another one and promised himself he would use the other one as a back up just in case.

There was a moment of silence before Rhydian Lestrange made a gesture with his hand. "Lord Lestrange you have the floor."

The father of two recent Azkaban escapees stood up, pressing down the non-existent wrinkles on the front of his robe. "You say we take away their humanity Lord Potter but I must ask, what humanity are you referring to? Werewolves are nothing but savage animals. If they had any humanity in them then werewolves would slowly die off and no one new would be bitten!"

Lestrange sat down and many of his supporters clapped at his little speech. Harry nodded at the end of it, his face passive but inside he was frowning. Some people could really be bastards.

"Lord Potter, do you wish to respond to Lord Lestrange's argument?"

Harry stood again, squaring his shoulders and raising his chin. "Yes. You are saying that since werewolves like Greyback exist, all werewolves must be treated as threats to our society right?" Rhydian nodded his head. "Well when Voldemort," nearly everyone in the room hissed at the name, "came to power he found followers in the purebloods, your sons and daughter-in-law were some of them if I'm not mistaken Lord Lestrange." Lestrange growled at Harry making it personal, something Harry liked doing when debating an opponent. "Should that mean we shouldn't trust purebloods? After all if some of the purebloods are homicidal maniacs than that must mean all of them are and so all purebloods should be in Azkaban."

Lestrange snorted. "That is an argument only an idiot would use."

"Yet that is your argument supporting this law Lord Lestrange. Does that mean you yourself are an idiot?"

Many of those in the room chuckled as Lord Lestrange's expense. "Why you little..."

"Lord Lestrange, please refrain yourself," Dumbledore admonished, fighting the grin that was making its way onto his face.

Harry looked around the room, noting the faces of all the people who had claimed they would help abolish the law. Most of them wore grins, though a few seemed to think his behavior inappropriate, maybe even childish. He didn't care though because making stuck up purebloods look like idiots was most of the fun in pureblood politics.

* * *

Voldemort sat at the head of the table, surveying half of his inner circle. The other half, the ones he had just rescued from Azkaban, were still recovering from their fourteen year ordeal and probably would be doing so for another few months. He was glad to finally have some of his better fighters back because most of those under his command wouldn't be able to take on Aurors and Hit Wizards.

He was still sore that the anti-werewolf laws he had Malfoy and Lestrange pushing for weren't passed. Greyback was having some difficulty recruiting werewolves, mostly because of Lupin. They saw that mangy bastard holding the position of professor at Hogwarts and being good friends with Harry Potter, and they thought maybe life would turn out well for them too. Wormtail's old friend gave them hope for a better life that didn't entail fighting for him and the repealing of the law by Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore only reinforced that idea.

"Macnair, the giants?"

"One of the clans has rebelled against their Glurg and will support us. I'm arranging to bring several of them into the country soon."

"Excellent. And Selwyn, any others in the Ministry wish to pledge their allegiance?"

"A Hit Wizard my lord. Nick Pierce, brother of Lord Edward Pierce. Lucius has already informed me Daniel Pierce, a seventh year Slytherin and Nick's son, has approached Draco about recruitment."

The Dark Lord allowed a small grin to work its way on his face. "A Hit Wizard? Finally some real fighters. Jonathon, what news of the Reapers?"  
"I've finally met with them my lord. They were resistant to the idea so I killed the leader in a gory fashion in front of the rest. They are much more agreeable now. I'm to meet with them tomorrow in order to bring them here."  
Voldemort let a cruel smile make its way onto his face. His old followers out of Azkaban had given him ten of his most reliable back. The assimilation of the Reapers would give him another twelve. Add that to the eleven recent recruits from the Ministry and the sixteen recent Hogwarts graduates and that brought his numbers up to sixty-three. Not to mention the nine idiots who had been outed by Potter but had escaped to one of his safehouses. During the last war he had barely had seventy followers throughout the entire war, now he hadn't even properly declared war and he already had seventy-two, not to mention all the students still at Hogwarts.  
"How are the ones from Hogwarts doing? The ones who were stupid enough to get exposed and almost reveal us to the world?"  
Avery Jr. licked his lips. "They are doing well my lord. Anxious to prove their worth to you."  
"Fools almost cost us dearly. Luckily Fudge is an idiot."  
"They did something good though my lord. Draco has stated that almost two dozen students have approached him about joining our side since the second of their attacks."  
Voldemort stroked his chin in thought. Two dozen more students would put the number of those loyal to him in the school around sixty fourth years and up. The numbers from this new generation were already higher then the numbers from the older generations. And Dumbledore thought these children would be the bright future of the wizarding world, leading it into an era of peace and tolerance?  
"I want to speed up the plan to assassinate Fudge toward the end of May. I want it to happen on the same day I plan on capturing Harry Potter. That means you have four months to train all the new recruits as best you can and my most faithful from Azkaban have four months to get healthy and back in fighting shape."

Talk spread amongst the eight members of Voldemort's inner circle. This was the plan Voldemort had been talking about since September. He had put it off for so long, claiming they needed more man power in order to run it effectively. Now that they had it, they just had to wait for some of their best fighters to get over their stints in Azkaban.

"Rowle you will assassinate Fudge. I leave everything about that up to you."

"Of course my lord," the assassin murmured, eyes gleaming at the prospect of assassinating such a high profile target.

"Lucius you will lead the group that captures Potter. Organize with your son a way to get Potter out of the castle and into the Forbidden Forest. If he's anything like your son suggest then he won't come alone. Jugson will be your second and take Crabbe and Goyle as your veteran backup. Also under your command is Higgs, Flint, Bole, Montague, Burrow, Bletchley, Belby, Samuels, Herbert, Harper, Warrington, the younger Crabbe and the younger Rowle. Also take the Reapers with you as well, give them a mission that doesn't involve to much fighting to test their resolve. Come up with some plans which I will review and decide upon."

"A bunch of school children my lord?" Lucius asked hesitantly.

"School children against school children," Voldemort sneered. "Do you need more then that to capture a fifteen year old Lucius?"

Lucius bowed his head in submission. "No my lord."

"De we need to commit that many to capturing Potter?" Nott questioned. Upon noticing the look on the Dark Lord's face he hurried to explain himself. "He's a good duelist, I'll give him that my lord, but he is still only fifteen. Twenty-nine men is extreme for one person."

"Potter is never to be underestimated and rarely does things by himself. That Weasley brat and the mudblood will most likely follow him and those in Hogwarts have said he is training a large group of students every morning. There is no telling how many of them will be with him as well. I don't want anything going wrong."

"Of course my lord," Nott breathed.

"I will draw Dumbledore away from Hogwarts by attacking Hosgmeade and announcing my presence to the world. I will take Bella, Rodolphus, Rabastan, Avery, Nott, Dolohov, Rookwood, Gibbon, Greyback, Mulciber, Macnair, Travers, Amycus, Alecto, Yaxley and I think Pucey is ready to stand up to Aurors and Hit Wizards. See if we can't bring some Giants in on the fun too, as well as the Dementors. If we can we will murder Dumbledore and raze the town but if we don't it does not matter. Potter is our main target."

Mutters went up around the table, everyone knowing of their Lord's obsession with the boy that caused his downfall all those years ago. Some whispered to themselves that the Dark Lord was letting his hatred of Potter cloud his judgment and affect his capability to come up with a sound strategy for the war. Of course known would express such a belief to Voldemort because none were that stupid.

"Come May, the world will know our strength and feel our wrath."

A/N: I've read plenty of fics that have Harry being an animagus and I gotta tell you all the main, cool animals are taken. I tried finding other animals, I really did cause I wanted to try to be original. Then I realized that the only way I'd be original was if I made him something like a praying mantis or a chihuahua or something. So I resigned myself to the fate of taken a used idea.

Also next chapter will be awesome...unless you're a Snape fan.


	15. Rivalries That Don't Die

I'd like to apologize in advance for the whole Harry/Hermione scene in this chapter. I've been stuck on that part for a few days now, unable to find a way to write it to my satisfaction. However, I wanted to post this chapter as soon as possible and so rushed that section in order to get this chapter done. Therefor it isn't as good as I'd like it be.

Chapter 15 Rivalries That Don't Die

Slowly brown eyes blinked open, hazily surveying their surroundings. Everything was white, which could only mean one thing; the hospital wing. Moonlight shone brightly through the windows, illuminating the room in a pale glow. The owner of the eyes felt a warmth in her right hand, and blearily looking down, saw her hand being clutched by someone. That someone was currently passed out in the chair next to her, his head down on the edge of her bed, his glasses askew and his mouth slightly open.

Madame Pomfrey came bustling out of her office, having a spell that would alert her when the teen awoke. "You're finally awake Miss Granger!" The healer stopped short upon spotting the figure occupying the seat next. "Not again Mr. Potter!"

"Again?" Hermione asked, her voice raspy from lack of use.

"You have been in here for a eleven days Miss Granger and every night I chase Mr. Potter out around curfew. Then when I do my morning rounds at five in the morning, I have to chase him out again because he sneaks back in!"

Hermione allowed a small smile to make its way on her face before she fully realized what Madame Pomfrey had said. "Eleven days?"

The school healer patted her on the shoulder. "Afraid so dear."

The bushy-haired witch tried to remember what happened but all she remembered was walking out of the library and then severe pain in the side of her face. Then there was several moments of excruciating pain and next thing she knew, she was waking up in the hospital wing.

"What happened?"

Pomfrey looked at her, as if debating to tell her. "You were attacked by the same ones that got Mr. Hopkins and the others. Luckily Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom came to your rescue and prevented anything too bad from happening. Two of the hooligans were taken into custody and the other nine have fled Hogwarts."

Hermione sat in deep thought as Madam Pomfrey ran some diagnostic spells on her. The questioning they were doing of potential suspects had been going slow and even though they had uncovered several future Death Eaters and even one who had already taken the Dark Mark, they still didn't find those who were doing the attacks. In two weeks they had only done four questionings and probably would have done more if it wasn't for herself. If she hadn't been protesting every action Harry, Ron and Neville had proposed maybe they would have discovered who was behind the attacks before she herself was attacked.

"You are going to have to take it easy. Three of your ribs were fractured and your nose, cheek bones and both bones in your left forearm were broken. Everything is healed but, they are still weak so I want to keep you in bed an extra few days."

"But there is already so much work I've missed!"

The healer shook her head. "I'm sorry Miss Granger but given the circumstances I'm sure the professors will excuse your inability to do all the work." Hermione nodded her head reluctantly. "Now let me wake Mr. Potter and send him back to his dorm."

"Madame Pomfrey?"

"Yes dear?"

Hermione looked down at her hand which Harry had firmly grasped in his. She squeezed his hand a little tighter, and felt him readjust his grip and do the same, even though he was still asleep. "Can you please let Harry stay?"

The older witch glanced at the sleeping Boy-Who-Lived with stern eyes. She turned her eyes toward her patient, her eyes softening at the look on the girl's face. "I guess so dear. The one time I didn't wake him, he woke up a little before six and left on his own. That's only a two hours away so I'll give him until then."

"Thank you." There was a moment of silence and Madam Pomfrey turned to go back into her office and sleeping quarters. "Madame Pomfrey?"

"Yes dear?" The healer turned toward Hermione.

"Did anyone else visit me while I was in here?"

"Of course dear. You had many visitors. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom were in here almost as much as Mr. Potter. They did their homework at your bed side. Many other Gryffindors also showed up several times, as well as a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws"

While Hermione was touched by that, that wasn't who she was thinking of. "What about Justin Finch-Fletchley? Do you know how many times he was here?"

Madame Pomfrey's face scrunched up in thought for a second. "He was here two or three times, generally for an hour or so."

The bushy-haired witch looked down. "Thank you."

* * *

"What are you still doing here?" Harry asked, exasperation littering his voice. "The attackers have been caught. You don't need to be in the school anymore."

Umbridge smirked at Harry with a self-satisfied look. "Minister Fudge is concerned about the education of our future. He wants me to sit in on several classes to see if the teaching in this school is up to Ministry standards."

Harry rolled his eyes; it was obvious Fudge was worried about what he was doing. The man was probably even more concerned after Harry and Dumbledore had managed to overturn his recent law. Fudge feared for his position and with the political power Harry and Dumbledore had, even after seven months of a slander campaign, the man had a right to be worried.

"Great. This isn't a class."

The stupid toad woman had been waiting outside the Room of Requirement even before Harry showed up, her eight law enforcement officials right behind her.

"Clubs and study groups as well. There is no reason for students to be learning things they don't need to learn."

"So you're trying to stifle creativity and curiosity. You want to prevent students from reaching their full potential," Harry spat.

"Not at all Mr. Potter. The Ministry believes that..."

Harry turned away from her, the door popping into existence in front of him. "Save it for someone who gives a shit about the Ministry."

All nine of them bristled in anger at Harry's tone, but he didn't care. The other students came around the corner and started filing into the room, shooting looks at the Ministry employees. Harry gave them a reassuring look of his own, letting them know he would deal with the situation.

"Well unless you have a Ministry warrant or decree you aren't going to interrupt my study group." The Boy-Who-Lived looked at Umbridge expectantly, watching as her fake-pleasantness changed into annoyance. "No? Didn't think you had anything that could legally make you sit in on these meetings."

Harry turned sharply and walked into the Room of Requirement, the door slamming shut behind him. Umbridge went to reach for the door knob but the door disappeared from existence right in front of her eyes. She knew from pass experience that there was nothing she could do to get the door to reappear, but that didn't mean she didn't try.

* * *

Harry was on his way to the Hospital Wing, following the same path he had walked several dozen times in the pass two weeks. Hermione had woken up three days ago and like when she was unconscious, Harry was spending most of his days by her side. She had broken up with Justin the day she woke up, not telling anyone why she ended what seemed to be a good relationship and Harry wasn't one to pry.

She had been apologetic for opposing him over the questioning affair of potential suspects. He had forgiven her easily, still angry at himself for letting her be attacked in the first place. She vowed to realize that they were in a war and in war people get hurt; and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. He vowed to make sure no one close to him would be hurt like that again, not while he had even the slimmest of chances of preventing it.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry greeted, catching sight of the Headmaster exiting the Hospital Wing.

A smile came over Dumbledore's face, his eyes twinkling like they always seem to do. "Good evening Harry. How are you on this fine day?"

"I'm good sir."

"I must say I'm surprised you aren't in Hogsmeade, especially on a day like today. Its not every day you get off in the middle of the week, and Valentine's is one of the most romantic days of the year."

Harry nodded his head in agreement. He had been asked to go to Hogsmeade by a dozen or so females. He had seriously considered several of them but he had made up his mind on what he was going to be doing today.

"I'm going to keep Hermione company today sir."

"That's a very noble thing to do Harry."

"I don't think its noble sir. I think its just being a good friend."

"Very true Harry. Now I don't wish to delay you any longer."

Dumbledore turned to leave but Harry stopped him. "Professor, I've been meaning to ask you something for the longest time." The Headmaster stopped and turned toward his favorite student. "My parents went into hiding because Voldemort was after them but they've been fighting against him for so long, why wait two years of fighting before going into hiding? Was it because of the prophecy? Does Voldemort know it?"

"Very perceptive Harry. Professor Trelawney told me the prophecy a year before you were born. I was meeting her for a job interview in the Hog's Head tavern and had considered her a fraud when as I was about to leave, she recited the prophecy to me. Unfortunately, someone who was in the service of Voldemort at the time overheard the entire thing outside the door before they were kicked out of the tavern. Of course, it wasn't known who the prophecy was about since it would still be several months before a baby being born at the end of July would be conceived but I had a list of parents who would fit the bill. So when your mother and Alice Longbottom both announced their pregnancies in December, I knew either you or Neville would be the Chosen One. So I took both expecting families aside, told them the prophecy and the danger they were in since a Death Eater had overheard it, and their was a spy in the Order."

"So Neville could also be the child of the prophecy?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "No. You are forgetting the line; and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal. The scar on your forehead means you are the one the prophecy applies to."

"Thanks for answering my questions sir."

"No problem Harry. Enjoy your day."

Harry patted the bag he carried over his shoulder, grinning at the Headmaster. "I will sir."

Dumbledore, no doubt having some idea of what Harry planned, smiled at him before walking down the corridor and out of sight. Harry turned toward the door in front of him and gently pushed it open before stepping inside the room.

"Harry? I thought you would have gone to Hogsmeade."

Harry grinned at Hermione, coming to a stop next to her bed. "And leave you alone in the Hospital Wing all day? I couldn't do that to you. Everyone needs someone on Valentine's Day."

Hermione blushed lightly at Harry's grin and answer. The green-eyed teen had been spending a lot of time with her lately; sitting at her bedside and doing homework or just talking to her about anything and everything. They had always been close friends but she felt like they were becoming even closer.

Harry held out his hand, which Hermione looked at in confusion. Harry felt his grin grow wider at her stare. "You can't spend the day in bed, especially in the Hospital Wing. So I'm busting you out of this joint."

Hermione looked startled and shook her head. "Madame Pomfrey said I still have three or four days before I'm fully healed."

"Don't worry about Madame Pomfrey. You'll be back later today and nothing will happen. Besides, I wrote her a note."

"A note?"

Harry nodded his head emphatically. "A note that explains everything."

The bushy-haired witch looked uncertain at Harry's belief a note would make everything alright. Still she had already been stuck in bed for several days and wouldn't mind getting out of the completely white room. Her bones might have still been weak but she knew Harry wouldn't let anything happen to her.

She took his still outstretched hand and allowed him to lift her out of bed. She felt herself blush as the baggy hospital gown sagged over her body, making her appear bigger than she really was. She wouldn't be able to go out in the gown, it would be to embarrassing.

Harry, upon noticing her looks, held out the bag he carried. "Ginny helped me get some clothes for you. I would have asked Parvati or Lavender but well uh, both still kind of hate me for breaking up with Parvati, even if they do let me train them."

Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing that Lavender was angry because Parvati was still upset over the entire thing, even if it had been a month and a half. Still though, she was thankful he had been thoughtful enough to get her clothes to change into. He pulled the curtain that separated the area around her bed from the rest of the room, giving her the privacy to change, which she quickly took advantage of.

She stepped out from behind the curtain, blushing as Harry's eyes looked her over. "You look great Hermione."

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Come on, lets go enjoy the day!" Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her after him.

He led her down a hallway, up four flights of stairs, then they made a left, followed by another left. They walked down a dimly lit corridor for a minute or two before going up a flight of stairs and making a right. When all was said and done, they stood in front of Barnabas the Barmy, the door to the Room of Requirements right across from them.

Harry urged Hermione toward the doorway, which she opened with a slight push. She gasped upon stepping into the room, which had changed into a large meadow surrounded by blossoming trees covered in pink flowers. The sun shone high in the bright blue sky, with no clouds in the sky.

"Its beautiful."

Harry smiled, stepping forward so he was side by side with Hermione. "I finally found a limit to this room." Hermione shot him a questioning look. "Food."

The dark-haired teen led her over to a blanket that was spread out beneath a particularly large tree. A wicker basket sat at the edge of the blanket, which the two Gryffindors preceded to sit on.

"Luckily, I know some people." Harry opened the basket, pulling out several butterbeers, a plate of sandwiches and a bowl of fruit.

"By people you mean house-elves," Hermione stating frowning a little.

"Particularly a very excitable and free house-elf named Dobby," Harry replied, before taking a bite out of a sandwich.

She slowly moved forward, taking a sandwich into her hand. As she ate, she tried not to notice Harry's eyes on her lips. The way he would subconsciously lick his lips every time she licked her own, lapping up the crumbs that had fallen upon her bottom lip. However, the heavy blush on her cheeks gave away her awareness.

The attention of Harry was new to her. He had always paid attention to her but as a friend, not in the way he was now. She wondered if he had always desired her, as it seemed he did now. Maybe the attack on her had made him realize he felt that way about her, making him aware of feelings he had tried to bury because they were friends and he feared for their friendship too much to try to make it anything more.

Still, she wondered where her appreciation of his attention came from. She had always been attracted to him, even at the tender age of eleven, it was hard not to with his handsome face and beautiful eyes. However, she had never had thoughts of being his girlfriend, because she didn't have those kind of feelings for him. Ron, maybe, but not Harry. At least that was how it use to be. Now though, now she didn't seem to mind his attention. In fact, if she was honest with herself, she loved his attention.

"If you don't stop staring, you won't be able to enjoy the rest of your sandwich."

Harry blushed, looking away and taking another bite out of his food. They sat in silence as they continued to enjoy the picnic, each one sneaking glances at the other. When the food was gone and the butterbeer bottles empty, they sat in silence, enjoying the view the room provided them with.

"Hermione..."

Hermione looked at Harry curiously, not use to him looking so unsure of himself. He seemed to be struggling with something.

"Hermione I like you. And not just like you but like you like you." He trailed off, wondering if that even made sense.

She smiled at him and he could feel his cheeks heating up. "I like you too Harry. And I mean like you like you."

He broke out into a boyish grin. "Really?"

"Really."

"That's great!"

* * *

The Golden Trio stopped as they turned the corner, spotting Professor Trelawney half-way down the corridor, slumped on the ground. They cautiously approached her, realizing that something appeared to be wrong with her.

"Professor Trelawney, what are you doing outside your tower right now? Don't you have a class to teach?" Hermione asked.

Harry was sure the professor meant to reply with, "Severus Snape is a terrible man!" However, it came out slurred and sounded more like "Sefwuss abe iba ter-ble may!" Rumors had spread that Professor Trelawney had attempted to read Snape his future in the Staff Lounge. Apparently she said something Snape didn't like because the man had unleashed a tongue lashing so severe the Divination professor had been seen fleeing from the Staff Lounge crying. At least that was the rumor had heard, and looking at the state of Trelawney in front of him, Harry guessed the rumors were true.

"You're drunk!" Hermione gasped.

Ron let out a guffaw. "She's more than drunk, she's completely buggered!"

Harry waved his wand, hitting her with a sobering charm he had been taught by the twins. However, the professor had consumed so much alcohol all the charm did was bring her down from barely-coherent-wasted to just wasted.

"You know Snape has always been after me!" the large glasses wearing witch cried out, this time her slurring not nearly as bad as before. "Why he almost made it so I didn't even get a job teaching!"

Hermione, although not approving of the professor's current state or the professor herself, decided to play the sympathetic ear. "How's that professor?"

"When I was interviewing for the job, he interrupted it! Got caught doing something outside the door of the room Professor Dumbledore and I were in. and got himself thrown out of the tavern! Caused this big ruckus."

"Wha...what?" A cold feeling crept up Harry's spine, as his mind put the pieces together in his head.

"You heard me! I was talking to Professor Dumbledore and things get a little fuzzy for a few moments but next thing I know there's a great commotion outside the doorway! And its Snape, getting thrown out the bar for doing something right outside our door!"

Harry turned and walked quickly away from Professor Trelawney, Ron and Hermione running to catch up after the latter hit the professor with another sobering charm.

"Harry whats going on?" Hermione asked, trying to keep pace with her boyfriend.

Harry refused to stop, anger building up inside him. "Dumbledore told me that he gave Trelawney her job because during his interview with her, she gave the prophecy about me and Voldemort."

Hermione put the pieces together and slapped her hand over her mouth as she realized what it meant. "Snape must have overheard it and told it to Voldemort!"

"Which explains why Voldemort decided to target me and my parents, because he knew the prophecy."

"And Snape recruited Pettigrew, giving Voldemort your family's secret keeper," Ron added, his expression darkening.

"Snape is the reason my parents went into hiding. He is the reason we even needed a secret keeper. And then he gave that secret keeper to Voldemort. He's the reason my parents were killed and I'm going to kill him," Harry breathed, his voice coming out in a growl.

"Harry lets be reasonable."

"I'm going to fucking murder him!" Harry snarled, stomping down the corridor.

"Harry! You can't! Ron do something!"

"No! Harry is right. What Snape did, well thats just fucked up. Harry has a right to his revenge if you ask me."

"You're useless, you know that?"

Snape would be teaching NEWT potions right now with the seventh years. He knew where that slimy git was and Harry promised himself he was going to make the man pay.

"Hermione we've only been going out for nine days but if you're really my girlfriend you won't try to stop me. Hell we've been friends for even longer and if you're really my friend you won't try to stop me."

"That's not fair!"

"Please?"

"Fine. Go ahead and get yourself thrown in Azkaban or expelled for all I care."

It wasn't a long walk to the potions classroom. As Harry approached, the door stated to shake before flying open and slamming against the classroom wall. Shouts of surprise rang out from inside the class room. The Boy-Who-Lived stalked into the room, wand clutched tightly in his hand and his eyes blazing with anger.

"Potter! 30 points from Gryffindor for interrupting my class!"

Hermione went to follow the furious teen into the room but Ron held her back. "This is between him and Snape. Let's wait this one out. Plus, I don't think he's going to want you to see him right now."

Snape sucked in a breath, about to go into a rant, to continue berating the green-eyed teen, but Harry wouldn't let him. A spear of light shot out of his wand and Snape barely dodged it, drawing his own wand in the process.

"That's another 50 points for attacking a professor!" Snape shouted.

"You fucking scum!" Harry yelled, a dark gray beam of light shooting from his wand.

Snape blocked the spell and returned fire with a stunner. Harry deflected the spell and it sailed harmlessly into the ceiling. A dark blue jet of light flew from the holly wand, breaking through Snape's shield and sending the potions professor flipping over his desk.

A Slytherin went to stand, drawing his wand in the process. However, before he was even fully out of his seat Harry had hit the older teen with a stunner, causing him to collapse in his seat. Another Slytherin tried to do the same thing, but even though she was able to block the first stunner, she couldn't block the second one.

"_Sectumsempra!_"

Harry twirled around, batting the spell into an empty desk where it sliced cleanly through the legs, toppling the desk to the ground.

Chairs scraped against the floor as the seven awake NEWT students fled the room. Two of them were already down and no one wanted to be hit by a stray spell. Not to mention potions in the process of being made were extremely violative without spell fire being thrown around who knew what would happen if a stray spell hit a cauldron.

"You got my parents killed!" Harry shouted. "You're the reason they're dead! _Confringo!_"

The azure jet of light slammed into the desk, making it explode in a shower of splinters and a small ball of fire. Snape winced as pieces of wood cut through his robes and into his skin, but ignored them as he launched a trio of spells at Potter.

"_Protego!_"

A dome of light popped into existence around Harry, deflecting the three spells. Dispelling the shield and stepping to his left, Harry allowed the follow up curse to fly by. It slammed into a simmering potion in the back, the cauldron and its content exploding in a ear-popping 'BOOM!' that shook the room. Metal shrapnel and burning liquid flew through the air, both fighters forced to shield themselves from the damage.

Harry banished a cauldron sitting in front of him at the Potions Master, who shielded himself from the attack, the bronze pot tumbling against the ground, its contents making a loud hiss as it hit the stone floor. The teen swatted away Snape's return fire, and stepping forward slammed his fist into the professor's crooked nose, making him stagger backwards.

"Did it please you, you bastard. Bringing news to your master, news that you knew how to reach James and Lily Potter? News that you knew of a prophecy involving your master and their son! _Reducto! Levicorpus_!"

Snape deflected the first spell but was unable to shield against the second one. He found himself being yanked off his feet and lifted into the air. The professor barely held onto his wand but couldn't see as his robes had fallen in front of his face.

A powerful stinging hex caught him in his private parts, causing him to howl in pain. He tried to launch spells at the Potter spawn but found his spells being parried before they even left his lips. The brat was taunting him, showing how futile he really was.

"_Legilimens!" _

Harry delved into Snape's mind, powering through his weakened shields. He wasn't a professional at Legilimency and it showed, as he plowed through Snape's mind without any delicacy. Then he found it, the memories of Snape hearing the prophecy, finding out that Pettigrew was the secret keeper and running to Voldemort with the information. The feeling of glee that the bitter man felt at having a chance to get rid of his nemesis. To be able to look down on James Potter's lifeless face and gloat because he had caused the man's death.

"This is for James Potter!" A powerful bludgeoner connected with Snape's right side, cracking ribs. "This is for Lily Potter!" Another bludgeoner, this one at a kneecap, shattering it in a spray of blood. "You're inability to get over a petty rivalry that was over for four years before my father died was pity worthy but the fact that you let it get at you so much that you took glee in assisting in the killing of my dad is disgusting."

Harry canceled the spell, dropping Snape on his head. The man passed out from pain and blood loss, laying on the ground a broken man.

"Oh my!"

"Mr. Potter!"

Harry turned around, seeing McGonagall with her hand over her mouth, staring at Snape in sympathy and horror. Dumbledore looked beyond furious, staring at Harry with more anger then he showed Barty Crouch Jr. at the end of last year.

"Get to my office. Now!"

Harry glared right back, shoving pass both teachers and marching out of the room. Ron and Hermione were still waiting for him, both of them looking worried.

"You don't want to look in there," he said, as he saw Hermione trying to get a glance into the room. "I did a number on him."

"You'll be suspended won't you?"

"Maybe expelled. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if I go to Azkaban to tell you the truth."

Harry ran his hands through his hair, finally letting his anger subside. He wouldn't regret what he did even if he went to Azkaban for life. They were his parents and Snape set them up for death.

"I should get going before Dumbledore comes out. He isn't happy."

"He immobilized the class." Ron nodded his head farther down the corridor, where the dozen students who had fled the room stood, motionless. "It seems he knew something was going on because him and McGonagall came walking down the corridor about the same time the seventh years came fleeing out of the room."

Harry frowned at the group of stationary students. "Wonder what he's up to..."

"Probably doesn't want them running off to tell their friends, or worse the Ministry, what happened. If they did, you'd be in trouble for sure."

Harry shrugged his shoulders before leaning toward Hermione and giving her a quick kiss on the lips. He patted Ron on the shoulder, nodding his head at his taller friend before he walked away, clutching his wand in his hand.

He arrived at the stone gargoyle, not knowing the password. He stood there, waiting for the Headmaster to arrive. However, the person that came walking down the hallway first wasn't the Headmaster or his head of house, it was student. A student with wide gray eyes and a wand tucked behind her ear.

"Hello Harry."

"Hey Luna. What are you doing by Dumbledore's office?"

"Is this where it is?" Luna asked, looking around herself. "I was looking for a umgubular slashkilter that I saw wandering down here."

"What's a... you know what? Never mind. I didn't see anything wander by so I can't be of any help."

"That's okay." Despite what she said, Luna still looked mildly disappointed. But her disappointment passed and soon an exciting smile made its way to her face. "Oh Professor Bedeau taught us this tricky shield spell I'm having trouble with. Can we go over it tomorrow?"

Harry sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I don't think so Luna. I kind of attacked Snape. I think I'm gonna be in a lot of trouble."

"The rotfang conspiracy," Luna stated, nodding her head solemnly.

"Yeah, the rotfang conspiracy."

He wondered where the hell she came up with such ridiculous sounding things. The other day she had told him about Fudge's army of heliopaths, a fire spirit that galloped across the ground, burning everything in its path. While he could see such a creature existed, he doubted Fudge would have an army of them.

"While it was nice talking Harry, I'll have to hurry if I want to catch up to that umgubular slashkilter."

"Sure. See you Luna."

The young Ravenclaw skipped away, farther down the corridor to who knows where. Harry shook his head, deciding that Luna was definitely her own person.

It was another fifteen minutes before Dumbledore came storming down the corridor, followed by McGonagall. Neither teacher spared the teen a look, Dumbledore snapping out the password to his office. It was the most uncomfortable silence of Harry's life, as he followed the two professors into the office and took a seat.

"Never in all my years of teaching!" The Transfiguration professor all but screamed. "Attacking a teacher! Putting him in the hospital wing with severe damage! They don't even know if he'll survive!"

"I'm disappointed in you Harry." Despite the anger on his face, the Headmaster spoke in a quiet voice.

"Me? You are disappointed in me? You knew didn't you! You knew what he did!"

McGonagall, even though she was furious, was now confused. Dumbledore just looked at Harry blankly, as if he had no idea.

"He eavesdropped and told Voldemort about the prophecy concerning me! The reason why my parents were targeted. He told Voldemort that Pettigrew was my parents secret keeper, not Sirius Black like everyone thought! He knew all these years that Sirius was innocent!"

Now McGonagall didn't know whether to be extremely angry at Harry or, if what the teen said was true, split between being angry with Harry for his actions and angry at the Headmaster for knowing all the sins Snape had committed and not telling anyone. Dumbledore remained quiet.

"I know you know! And you trust him? After what he did to my parents, you let him into this school? You let him teach me? And you kept it all from me?"

"Its true," Dumbledore admitted. "He did do that and I did keep it from you. But that is the past. He has changed."

"Yeah, why do you say that? Did he come to you professor? Telling you how sorry he was, how he wished he could take back what he did?"

Dumbledore again chose to remain silent, staring at Harry as if he didn't even know him.

"Still," McGonagall started, "that's no reason to attack a professor. I'm sorry to say this Mr. Potter but I don't think there is anything left to do but expel you."

"Fine. I accept that. I've got enough money to survive and a house to live in. Take my wand. I don't regret anything."

"No." Dumbledore stated. "If Harry is expelled they will not only snap his wand, which we can't allow, but he will be out in the world and an easy target for Voldemort and his followers. You will be suspended. And as your Headmaster I can dictate the rules of your suspension.

"You will spend six weeks back at your relatives house. You will be able to have your wand but you are not allowed to use it. You will write nine, one foot essays every day, one for each class you have, the topics of which will be given to you so you will not fall too far behind your classes. Every night at eleven a house-elf will appear in your room to collect your essays. For every essay you miss, another day will be added to your suspension and if need be we will hold you back a year. Do you understand?"

"What if I refuse to write any of the essays?" Harry asked, still angry.

"Then you will be expelled and your wand will be snapped."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "You wouldn't dare do that to your Golden Boy."

"Care to try me Mr. Potter?"

Harry stared at Dumbledore defiantly, refusing to back down. Dumbledore for his part returned Harry's fiery gaze with a cold one of his own. Neither one seemed like they were going to budge, until with a sigh, Dumbledore shifted his gaze.

"I have modified the memories of all of the NEWT students in the class. They know you attacked Snape, but not how violent the attack was."

"Gonna be hard to explain Snape in the hospital. People will speculate and since I attacked him obviously I put him there, even if my attack wasn't that 'vicious'. " Harry did finger quotes around the last word, his voice sarcastic.

"One of your spells was deflected by Snape into a cauldron near him, which exploded, wounding him severely."

"Professor Dumbledore," one of the portraits spoke up, "two Hit Wizards are coming to your office now."

"If they take me to trial I'll tell them everything I can on Snape. If I'm going to Azkaban I'm taking him with me."

Dumbledore sighed. "Having you done enough to him Harry?"

"I don't know sir. Its not like because of him I've never known a mother's love or was never taught how to ride a broom by my father. Its not like its Snape fault that when I woke up from a nightmare as a child there was no mother to hold me and assure me everything was alright or that I never had a father to teach me how to shave or treat a girl. Oh wait, it was his fault. He may not have killed my parents but he made sure Voldemort would go after them. You have to choose, protect your Golden Boy or protect your pet Death Eater."

Dumbledore shook his head, wondering where everything went wrong with the teen in front of him. "I'm sending you through the floo to Sirius and Remus' house. I will deal with the Hit Wizards and the Ministry. Your trunk will be brought to you tomorrow, along with your first essay subjects. If you are to be taken to trial for your actions, I will let you know. Tell Sirius to talk to your relatives to make sure you can stay there tonight. I will speak to them tomorrow."

Harry didn't respond, grabbing a pinch of floo powder and tossing it into the fireplace. Green flames shot into the air, flickering across the room. Stepping into the flames, Harry shouted "Marauder's House" and was gone in the blink of an eye.

He stumbled out of the fireplace in the living room of his father's friends' house. Dusting off the soot that had gathered on him, he glanced up when he heard the footsteps on the stairs.

"Harry?" Sirius asked, glancing in the room.

"Harry's here? Why is Harry here?" Remus shouted from the basement.

"I attacked Snape," Harry answered simply.

Remus came rushing into the room. "Attacked him? Why? What happened?"

"I did a number on him. Broke some ribs. Destroyed his knee cap. Probably fractured his skull. Might have even done some mental damage too."

They both gasped in shock, staring at the teen who sounded so monotone.

"I don't understand. What's going on?"

"I've been suspended for six weeks. I'm to spend it with the Dursleys. I might even go to Azkaban."

"Merlin," Sirius breathed.

"Why did you do it though? Was he taunting you again?" Remus asked.

"Did you guys know that Pettigrew wasn't a Death Eater until July of 1981?"

They both shook their heads, wondering where this was going.

"Yeah, it wasn't until ten months after he was made secret keeper, that he turned on our side. See as soon as I was born Voldemort was hunting me because of the prophecy. You guys told me that Trelawney had made the prophecy when she interviewed for a job at Hogwarts. Dumbledore met her in the Hogs Head Tavern in a private room but that someone had eavesdropped and had heard half of it. Pettigrew, when I talked to him, told me who recruited him. He told me when he was recruited it was to get someone close to Sirius, because they originally suspected Sirius was the Secret Keeper. Then they found out that Wormtail was the secret keeper, not Sirius. It was the same person that heard the prophecy. Snape."

He watched their faces, as they put two and two together.

"So Snape was the one who got Voldemort going after your parents?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded his head.

"And he was the one who handed your parents secret keeper to Voldemort? And he knew Sirius was innocent in Azkaban the entire time?"

Again Harry nodded his head. "Because he couldn't get over a six year rivalry that had ended four years before that Halloween night."

"Still you shouldn't have done what you did." Remus voice shook and Harry could tell he was trying to suppress his anger, trying to be the mature one.

"Sirius, Dumbledore wants you to accompany me home. To make sure my relatives let me stay at least the night until he can get here tomorrow."

"Of course. Let's go."

They walked in silence to Number Four, Sirius making sure his glamor was up. The gray afternoon sky seemed to be reflecting Harry's mood perfectly. Harry knocked on the door, stifling his groan at having to be back in Surrey with the Dursleys.

Vernon was the one who threw open the door, staring at shock at his nephew. "You? What are you doing here? It's the end of February, not the beginning of June!"

"Way to point out the obvious Uncle." The walrus like man bristled at the insult. "I attacked a teacher. Put him in the hospital with some serious injuries. I've been suspended for six weeks."

"Of course you would attack a professor. You're no good, I've been saying it since you showed up on our doorstep!"

"Yeah, yeah. Say it to someone who cares."

Harry pushed his way pass his uncle, walking into the house. The man turned toward him, spluttering angrily. He turned toward Vernon, watching as the man's face went a dark shade of purple.

"Unfortunately I have to spend that six weeks here. Extra punishment see? Since spending any more time with you then necessary is punishment for any human being."

"Now see here boy! I know you can't use that, that stick of yours when you're here and I will not stand for that kind of talk or tone when you are addressing me. You may have put a professor in the hospital with that stick but without it you are nothing and I'll make sure you won't forget it!"

Sirius growled in the back of his throat, ready to jump in and scare Vernon enough to get the fat man to leave his godson alone. However, Harry wasn't taking it lying down. His anger had built up again and he was waiting for an excuse to let it out.

"Who said I used my wand on him?" Harry bared his teeth and opened and closed his fingers, making him seem like he was possessed. "Want me to show you how I shattered his kneecap? It wasn't too hard, just a nicely placed kick."

Vernon paled a little, forgetting that he outweighed his nephew by a good hundred and fifty pounds.

"Besides," Sirius started, speaking up for the first time and dropping his glamor, "if you lay a finger on him I'll know. And you won't want that Dursley, trust me."

Vernon looked between the two of them, his face beyond terrified.

"Just leave me the fuck alone and I'll do the same."

Harry stormed up the stairs, passing Petunia who had gathered at the top to see what all the commotion was. She scrambled away from him, looks of fear on her face. The green-eyed teen looked at her, giving her the most frightening smile he could muster. Petunia let out a sharp 'meep!' before scrambling backwards into her bedroom and slamming the door closed.

* * *

Harry glared at Dumbledore over his bowl of cereal. The Headmaster had stopped by ten minutes ago and had berated Harry for his actions the entire time. Harry was still pissed at Dumbledore for knowing such information about Snape and still allowing that man any contact with Harry. So the Headmasters disappointment speech wasn't doing the old man any favors in his eyes.

"As for the Ministry, Fudge wanted to arrest you for aggravated assault and attempted murder. However there was a series of old laws I managed to look up, created by the Wizengamot when the Ministry first came into power to make sure the pureblood lords would still be able to act like they always have. One such law allows a pureblood lord to inflict punishment upon anyone who has unjustly caused harm to members of their family. The law states that the punishment must be considered equal to or less than the act inflicted upon the family.

"I had to tell of the actions of Snape, with overhearing the prophecy and telling it to Voldemort, as well as him recruiting your parents secret keeper into the Death Eaters. Madame Bones decided that your actions against Snape were in fact working in favor with this law, since as far as anyone else is aware of, you didn't intentionally cause such damage to Snape. Though, you are to pay a thousand-galleon fine, because you dished out your punishment without alerting anyone of the crimes committed against your family. Fudge was furious and is right now trying to get those ancient laws appealed. While you are clear from the Ministry, the Daily Prophet is tearing you a part and you'll find many in our society will hate you even more. Some are speculating that it was you behind the attacks and you merely framed Mr. Rookwood and Mr. Towler."

"Great the sheep follow their shepherds. What else is new," Harry spat, sneering at the thought of the wizarding public.

"You behaved like a lunatic and attacked a professor, what do you expect them to think Mr. Potter?"

"You hired a Death Eater who helped kill my parents, how did you expect me to react Professor Dumbledore?"

A/N: POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT BELOW! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

THE FOLLOWING IS A DESCRIPTION OF HARRY AND HERMIONE'S RELATIONSHIP. IT MIGHT RUIN PART OF THE STORY FOR YOU. SEVERAL HAVE COMMENTED ABOUT IT AND I WANT TO CLEAR IT UP NOW.

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Harry, although appearing normal after everything the Dursleys' put him through, wasn't left completely normal. His emotions and feelings have been stunted by the Dursleys. When he sees that Hermione is being attacked he gets pissed off and wants nothing more then to make sure she never feels that kind of pain again. He realizes that he would be beyond devastated if anything more serious was to happen to Hermione and he identifies this as love. Which it is, however, having never known any kind of love in his life before, he thinks that this means he is in love with Hermione, rather then just having a love for her, like he would Ron or Sirius. Since he thinks his love for Hermione is romantic, rather then platonic, he subconsciously invents these feelings for Hermione that weren't there before. That is why his interest in her appears rather sudden, because it is sudden. Before she was attacked, Harry didn't like Hermione in that way. He thought she was becoming rather pretty but his attraction to her like that was purely physical. After the attack he realized he had strong feelings for her and misinterpreted them as romantic love instead of platonic love.

As for Hermione, well even though she tries to hide it, she is mentally affected by the attack. She is scared that something like that is going to happen again. Hermione is hurt and in need of comfort, which Harry is there to provide. Since Harry was the one to save her, is offering her support and is the one most likely person to ever prevent an attack from happening on her again, Hermione develops feelings for Harry. He offers the two things Hermione needs most at the moment, comfort and protection. Hermione's feelings for Harry aren't romantic but she likes the attention and is too messed up from the attack to think otherwise. Hence, the rational one of the two thinks nothing is wrong either.


	16. Being Suspended Isn't So Bad

This chapter includes some Harry/Hermione time. I don't like fluffy scenes or anything like that, which is why there are so few of them in my stories. However, in order to properly relationships and their progressions I realized I need to include one or two in every now and a then, which is what I've done in this chapter.

Also, this story doesn't always follow cannon, even things that have happened before book 5. Its already been seen with my making purebloods the majority and it will be seen again in this story with Dumbledore's family.

Chapter 16 Being Suspended Isn't So Bad

Harry lay in the shoddy mattress known as his bed at the Dursleys. The second day of his suspension was coming to an end and he already hated it. The essays took up most of his time and Dumbledore had sent Sirius and Remus on a mission to India to make sure they didn't help or entertain Harry. That left him on his own with the Dursleys. He still ran, and used the gym in the basement to stay in shape but besides that and eating, he spent most of his time in his room, writing.

The elf had just picked up his essays for today and delivered the ones that were due tomorrow. Which meant it was just him and the Dursley's for the next twenty-four hours before he got another five minutes hanging out with a house-elf as it collected his essays and gave him the new ones.

As he lay there, waiting for sleep to come so he could start day three of his forty-two day suspension, he heard the squeaking of the staircase. It wasn't the heavy squeak Vernon would produce and as far as he knew, Aunt Petunia never awoke from her sleep unless it was morning. That meant there was someone in the house that shouldn't be there.

Rolling out of bed and grabbing his wand, Harry crouched in the middle of his room, wand pointed at the door frame. The door was pushed open slowly, a short figure standing in the hallway. The figure stepped into the room, their hand feeling for something on the wall. Harry clenched his wand tighter and was about to cast a spell before the lights flickered on.

"Hermione?"

The brunette smiled at the dumbstruck teen in front of her. "It's been two days and you already forgot about your girlfriend?"

Harry stood up as Hermione sauntered over to him, stopping with her face inches from him. "What? How?"

"Broke into Professor Sprout's office, floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron, took the Knight Bus to the park by your house and picked the lock on the front door." Harry looked at her, flabbergasted. "The twins taught me how to pick a lock, said it was an honor to help corrupt what was previously thought incorruptible."

"Remind me to thank the twins," Harry muttered, moving his head forward and pressing his lips into hers.

"Will do," Hermione mumbled against his lips.

Harry pulled away, took his girlfriend's hand and walked over to his bed. He sat down, his back against the wall as Hermione laid across the bed, her head resting on his thigh. He ran his fingers through her brown locks, struggling a little against the wild mess that was Hermione's hair.

"How are things at school?"

"Things aren't as great as you might think. Malfoy attacked a third year Gryffindor yesterday as she was coming back from the library right before curfew. Unfortunately half of Slytherin swears Malfoy was with them and the Gryffindor was by herself so the professors can't do anything. It wasn't a brutal attack but it put the girl in Madame Pomfrey's care for a few days."

Harry scowled, thinking of ways to kill Malfoy with a toothbrush. "I think he's testing the waters. I'm not there so he wants to see how much he can get away with. He's free to roam the halls as he pleases because I've really been the only one to stand up to him."

"What would you do?"

"I'd attack him. Find him by himself and put him in the hospital wing. Have all of Gryffindor swear I was with them. Let him know you aren't going to put up with his shit. The downside is you'd have to watch your back because Malfoy is the kind to get retribution and you know he's to cowardly to attack you by himself and to your face."

Hermione opened her mouth to say how wrong all that was but stopped herself before uttering anything. Harry had wanted to use heavy-handed tactics to find the attacking Junior Death Eaters and she had fought him every step of the way; then she had been attacked. Maybe he was right. Maybe they should put Malfoy in his place. However, she would debate it with Ron and Neville, not Harry who couldn't do anything in his current predicament.

"Its weird not having you around and the reason being because you're not holed up in the hospital wing."

"Yeah, being here during the winter is a weird experience after four years."

"Harry, I've been wondering...why?"

She didn't need to voice exactly what she was asking. He knew she wanted to know why he had attacked Snape so viciously. Why he had let his temper get the best of him.

"I found out my mom's name by accident," Harry stated, staring off into space. "As a child I was taught to never ask questions, bad things would happen to me if I did. I was seven and Aunt Petunia was on the phone with an old family friend. 'Yes, Lily's child. He's been with us since she died when he was one.'" Harry tried and failed to imitate his Aunt's voice.

Hermione didn't know exactly where he was going with this. However, she was not going to stop him from talking. It was rare that Harry talked about his childhood or his emotions. She figured he needed some kind of release, since he had been holding all of it in for years.

"I found out my dad's name when I was nine. A strange man in a dress, who I now realize was a wizard, bought me an ice cream cone at the park. He told me 'anything for James and Lily Potter's boy.' I remember at night curling up on my mattress and wishing with everything I had that my parents would come and take me away, that maybe they weren't dead, just delayed. Uncle Vernon always told me they were unemployed and my dad was a drunk. I didn't want to believe it, not at first but after a while of having nothing to contradict him I started to believe it."

Although he wouldn't look at her, she didn't have to see his face to tell it was probably overcome with emotion. His voice was already thick with it. "And then I come to the wizarding world and James and Lily Potter are heroes. They aren't a dark spot on my life like they were with the Dursleys. James Potter was a great Chaser and a Transfiguration protege. Lily Potter could do things with a wand and a cauldron no one has seen in ages. And they loved me Hermione." His voice cracked. "They loved me more than their own lives. My parents sacrificed themselves for me. Can you imagine the life I would have had if they survived? The life Voldemort took from me. The life Pettigrew took from me. The life Snape took from me."

His voice got quieter as he spoke, trailing off at the end. Hermione pulled him down into a light kiss. However, Harry, who for one of the first times since he was five, let his emotions get the best of him needed something he never had in these situations. He needed someone and he needed compassion. He deepened the kiss, pulling her up so he didn't have to bend down at an awkward angle.

Hermione, whose lips remained attached to Harry's, maneuvered herself so she was straddling him. He kissed along her jawline before trailing his lips downward, finding a spot on Hermione's neck that pulsed with her heartbeat. He attached his mouth to the spot, sucking on it softly and getting a mewling sound in response.

The wizard smirked at the moan of disappointment Hermione admitted as he pulled his mouth from her neck. With a quick tug he had her shirt of, his following seconds later. He moved his mouth eagerly back toward hers, capturing her lips in another passionate kiss. His hand found the small of her back, where he pulled her against him, her bra covered breast pressing into his bare chest. She moaned into his mouth as his hand slid up her back and to the clasp of her bra. With a snap of his fingers, the clasp was undone and the bra was slipping down Hermione's arms and breast.

However, before her twin peaks could fully be revealed, Hermione put her hand against Harry's chest and pushed lightly. Feeling the pressure, Harry disengaged his lips from her own swollen ones. He looked down at her mostly exposed breast, which were rising and falling with every deep breath he took. He examined them for a moment before his piercing emeralds raised to meet her rich-chocolate eyes, which were slightly glazed over with lust, likely matching his own.

"I've never done this before," Hermione stated, her voice coming out in a husky whisper.

Harry had assumed that Hermione, who had dated Viktor Krum for five months in their fourth year and Justin Finch-Fletchley for three months this year, had at least moved beyond snogging. Still, he realized he shouldn't have assumed such things from her. She was, after all, someone with high morals and high self-worth.

"We don't have to do anything you don't want to." He was sincere, even if he would have to take a cold shower.

"I want to. Just take it slow, please."

Harry leaned forward and kissed her gently. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Hermione let the bra slip free, allowing the rest of her breast to be exposed to Harry's hungry gaze. Her hands move forward, trailing softly against Harry's arms before hooking onto him and pulling him against her. Flesh met flesh, heat burning between them as her lips sought his. Desire coursed through both of them, tongues sliding against each other. With some restraint, Hermione pulled back and looked him in the eye.

"I know."

* * *

**Eleven Days Later**

The first time they had made love, Harry had been overwhelmed by emotions and needed a release. Hermione had been swept up by the intense emotions, something that Harry had never shown. It wasn't something they either of them were opposed to but if asked both would say it was too soon in their relationship to have done such a thing. However, the past was the past and since it had happened anyway, they decided there was no reason to stop it from happening again.

"Umbridge still comes around."

"If you didn't want to go a second time you could have just told me. No reason to bring her up to kill my libido."

Hermione smirked and shifted her bum, rubbing her pelvis against his. "Doesn't feel killed to me."

Harry stifled a moan by burying his face in her hair, squeezing her tighter against him. It was night thirteen of his suspension and the fifth night Hermione had come to visit him.

"She does though, though not as much as when you're there. She tries to disrupt the training but Susan handles her pretty well. I think she's been getting tips from her aunt on how to handle Umbridge."

Harry hummed his agreement, tracing a lazy circle on her hip. He had heard about how Ron, Susan, Eddie Carmichael and Hermione had taken over leadership of the training while he was gone. Ron, who was the most physically gifted, made sure everyone did the proper stretches, completed the run and did the proper exercises to work out every muscle in their body. Susan, who had spent her entire life around Aurors and Hit Wizards taught everyone their tactics like working in pairs and groups, and entering and clearing buildings. Eddie, who was the best fighter besides Harry, helped them in dueling and all out magical brawls. Hermione, the smartest in the group, looked up new magics to teach the group, whether it be offensive curses and defensive energies or healing spells and stealth and tracking charms.

"Ron, Dean, Seamus and Neville got into a fight the other day."

"What?" Harry maneuvered himself so he was up on his elbow, looking down at Hermione.

"Yeah. Duane Sidora, Malfoy, Barry Chalke, Crabbe and Nott cornered me the other day and started promising next time I wouldn't be so lucky." Harry growled in his throat, promising to kick the shit out of everyone of those Death Eaters and Death Eater wannabes. "Calm yourself tiger. Ron came out of nowhere and slugged Malfoy right across the jaw. He dropped quickly. Next thing I know Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean are fighting with the Slytherins with both fist and magic. Luckily Professor Flitwick broke it up, otherwise I think it would have evolved into a huge brawl between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Malfoy is still pissed Ron and I put him in the hospital wing with boils on his private parts."

"You gotta be careful around them Hermione. Sidora is already a Death Eater and the others are all lined up to join. Malfoy is probably scheming on getting back at you guys as we speak. Just because we got rid of the ones bold enough to brutally attack people, doesn't mean there isn't danger at school."

"I still think we should tell Dumbledore. He can do something about it."

Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore already knows there are Death Eaters amongst the students. He has to have some idea which students have joined Voldemort too, it isn't that hard to guess. He won't do anything about it. He's too passive when it comes to Hogwarts and those who occupy it."

* * *

Harry tied his running shoes nice and tight and stood up slowly, stretching as he did so. He didn't expect to see anyone from Hogwarts, besides the house-elf that collected his essays and Hermione, who visited him every few days. Which was why when he opened the front door, he was shocked to see Dumbledore standing on the doorstep to Number Four. The Headmaster was wearing a gray business suit with neon green stripes. His beard, which usually hung to his mid-thigh, was tucked into the leather belt around his waist. A dark green suitcase was clutched in a wrinkled wright hand, while the left hand adjusted the purple tie that hung from the Headmaster's neck.

"May I come in Harry?"

The teen in question, who didn't want to let the professor see he had caught him off guard, decided to reply with eloquence. "Er...yah."

Dumbledore walked briskly pass Harry and into the kitchen. After a moments hesitation, Harry slowly closed the front door and followed his Headmaster into the kitchen. Dumbledore was seated at the kitchen table and Harry, feeling under dressed in his running shorts and long sleeve undershirt, slid into the seat across from the old wizard.

"It has been two weeks so far into your suspension."

Harry slowly nodded his head, wondering where the old man was going with this. He knew how long it had been and how many days he had left. Was Dumbledore here just to remind him how disappointed he was in Harry's actions? Or maybe the Headmaster was here to add more days to the suspension.

"I am here to present you with a change of scenery for the rest of your suspension."

The black-haired wizard leaned forward in his seat, now eager to hear what the Headmaster had to say. Anything to get out of seeing his relatives ugly faces more then he had to. "What is it?"

"What do you know of the soul Harry?"

"Um." The teen was caught off guard by the question. "Only the standard Christianity views of it."

Dumbledore seemed to be expecting that answer, expecting his ignorance on the subject. "The soul is real. It exist in everyone. It is what allows someone to stay behind and linger as a ghost. There is a branch of magic, known as soul magic, that deals with it exclusively. It is a dangerous branch, and most of it involves the art of splitting the soul of either the caster or the target. It is illegal in most countries, including this one. The most known version of soul magic is the slave bond, which was popular in the Middle Ages when lords would bind their serfs soul to their own, making the serfs have to do whatever the lord wished."

Harry frowned at that, not liking that such a thing was possible with magic. "Splitting your soul doesn't seem like it would be good for you."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "It isn't good for you. Splitting ones soul leads the person down a dark path where they find their values and morals, the very same values and morals that have prevented them from acting in such nefarious ways, mean less and less to them. It can also lead to insanity and paranoia."

Secretly Harry wondered if Mad-Eye ever split his soul. That guy was as paranoid as they came. "What does this have to do with my suspension?"

"There is a branch of soul magic," Dumbledore continued, as if not hearing Harry, "that allows someone to make a Horcrux. A Horcrux is the receptacle in which a Dark wizard has hidden a fragment of his soul for the purposes of attaining immortality."

"Voldemort."

"Correct." Dumbledore leaned forward, to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. "Tom Riddle has created multiple Horcruxes. It is why he was able to survive his fatal attempt on your life. It is why he is assured of his immortality. As long as he has one Horcrux, he can not be killed."

"You said he has multiple. Do you know exactly how many?"

"There are exercises," again Dumbledore ignored Harry's question, "and rituals that can help strengthen your soul and make it expand in size. Such a thing is useful if you want to split your soul multiple times. Without doing such things, ones soul can only be split, on average, five times. However, I have read cases of people splitting their soul up to ten, even eleven times, after performing these rituals and exercises. There was a village in India that specialized in such rituals. I say there was a village because sometime in the early 1950's the village mysteriously disappeared, two months after an English wizard had set out to visit the settlement."

It was easy to see where the Headmaster was going with this. "You think Riddle was the English wizard."

"Correct. I believe he performed the rituals necessary to allow his soul to be split more times then normal and then when he was done, he destroyed the village. When he killed the village, he most likely created a Horcrux and left it there, hiding the village from anyone searching for it."

Harry's eyes widened in understanding. "You sent Sirius and Remus to India."

"Sirius and Remus, along with Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge and William Weasley, were sent on a mission to India to find this village and recover the Horcrux, if it is indeed there."

Sirius was a great fighter and Remus was pretty good himself, as well as being extremely knowledgeable in defending against the darker side of magic. Doge was a former Auror, probably some extra security. Vance was a Healer, in case someone got injured. Bill was a Curse Breaker, in case Voldemort had left some nasty surprises in the form of wards. "I still don't understand what this has to do with my suspension. And you never answered my question about how many you think Voldemort made."

"I will answer the second question first, in that I originally thought Tom created seven, but after learning of his trip to this Indian village, I now believe the number to be thirteen; twelve Horcruxes and the one in his own body."

Harry slammed his head into the table in front of him. How the hell was he to save the world with this shit in the way? Twelve Horcruxes, hidden across the world, defended by who knows what. Why couldn't killing Dark Lords be easy?

"Luckily one of the Horcruxes has been destroyed." Dumbledore picked his suitcase off the ground and placed it on the table. Popping open its latches, he opened the lid and grabbed something inside.

"Tom Riddle's diary?" Harry asked, eying the dark leather-bound book soaked in ink with a large hole in the middle.

"Indeed. When you told me exactly what this diary did, you opened my eyes to exactly how far Tom Riddle went to achieve his immortality. With this one destroyed that leaves eleven left. I believe the items he chose to host his Horcruxes aren't your average run of the mill items. They hold significance to him, same as the places he leaves these Horcruxes.

"As for your second question, I realize that I alone can not hope to find all of these Ho cruxes. I need help, someone who can understand Tom Riddle and the man he has become almost as well as I believe I myself know him. That person is you."

"You want me to study Voldemort?"

"In order to defeat your enemy you must first understand your enemy. I have many hours worth of memories from various people that will help you see his descent into the man he is."

"Where am I going to do this?"

Dumbledore folded his hands in front of him, a smile making its way to his face. "At my house. Though I should warn you, if you accept this offer you won't just be viewing memories. I have arranged for Alastor and a family friend of mine, a James Macnie, to train you. Alastor will continue the training in tactics and strategy, as well as improve your ability to fight. James will teach you how to defeat various dark creatures, which as a former Ministry executioner and current Slayer he is quite capable at."

It made sense that there was more in store. Why would Dumbledore allow him to lounge around watching memories when he was supposed to be punished? Working with Mad-Eye over tactics already involved a lot of the older man yelling about Harry's stupidity, he could only assume the fighting aspect would be brutal.

"Its better then writing essays and spending time with the aunt and uncle," Harry stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"Excellent." Dumbledore reached into the suitcase and pulled out a sock covered in broomsticks. "This is a portkey that will take you to my house. It will activate at noon exactly. Alastor and James have worked out a schedule between the two of them. Whenever you are not taking lessons from either of them you will either be sleeping or viewing memories. I will stop by every Saturday to go over the memories you have viewed, which are arranged to go in chronological order. I expect you at the end of Tom's fifth by the end of the week."

The teen winced at the thought of all the tedious memory watching he would have to be doing. Dumbledore stood up and placed the destroyed diary back in the suitcase before closing it. He adjusted his tie before turning and walking toward the kitchen door.

Dumbledore was about to step out of the kitchen but paused, his hand on the door. "Better tell Miss Granger you are leaving. Wouldn't want her visiting an empty room would we?"

With that the Headmaster was gone, leaving Harry with his mouth hanging open. The cagey old bastard had known Hermione left the castle to visit him on multiple occasions. Yet, despite his anger with Harry he had still let the two meet.

* * *

Harry would have liked to have said that Dumbledore had a nice house but house wasn't accurate; it was more like a mansion. Even then, he couldn't really comment of the beauty of it all because he only ever saw four rooms and about seventy feet of hallways and staircases. The guest bedroom he slept in was similar to his dorm in Gryffindor, except only one bed and it was colored green and black. The dueling hall was large enough for him to run in, it was also where he got his ass handed to him by Moody in fights and he went over spells to kill dark creatures with James. The large study, which contained a giant pensieve, he spent countless hours in viewing memories of and about Tom Riddle, as well as study tactics with Moody. Then there was the small dining room where he ate, served food by one of the half a dozen house-elves that took care of the house.

It had already been three weeks into the last four weeks of his suspension. It was safe to say he knew Tom Riddle almost as well as Tom Riddle did himself. He had seen Merope Gaunt and her miserable life, which ended with a broken heart when she stopped using love potions on Tom Riddle Sr. and the man had left her. He had seen the type of disturbed child Tom Riddle had become during his stay in the orphanage, his obsession with his heritage and the way he charmed and manipulated almost everyone at Hogwarts, even having a small gathering of followers when he left Hogwarts. There was a gap in the memories, after Tom Riddle had quit Borgin & Burkes and left Britain with several founder artifacts in tow. Dumbledore speculated he traveled the world, learning as many magics as possible. Then in 1964, fourteen years after leaving, a Dark Wizard named Voldemort had come to the United Kingdom, recruiting followers and striking against the Ministry. Dumbledore had even included his duels with Voldemort throughout the war. He had already seen two of them, with almost a dozen more to go. The display of magic during the fights between the Dark Lord and the only one he ever feared were awe inspiring.

Moody had moved up from teaching him about tactics from the war with Grindewald to teaching him about the tactics used by Voldemort and the Death Eaters in the last war. Harry learned that when Mulciber was the one making the commands he liked to lure the Ministry forces into attacking by only putting half his forces on the front lines, with the other half sitting hidden in reserve. Dolohov liked to put his best fighters at the point of a wedge-formation, which he used to crush the center of his opponents lines, forcing the lines to collapse from the center outward.

James had been teaching him the weaknesses and strengths of werewolves, vampires, trolls and goblins, as well as how to best use each of those strengths and weaknesses against his opponent. He had witnessed battles between wizards and all those beast, seeing what to do if he ever found himself faced against one, as well as what not to do. He had been taught spells designed specifically for each creature, ones that immobilized and killed.

"What do you know about Giants?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a second. "Average height of twenty-two feet and average weight of a ton. Have their own, primal language though can be taught the basics of human languages. Very violent creatures, live in small tribes of eight to thirteen, with numbers varying since they kill their own during violent outburst. Most of them sided with the Dark Lords Grindewald and Voldemort during the last two wars, and most of their numbers were exterminated by the various governments during and after the wars."

Macnie gave an appreciative whistle. "Obviously you know your stuff about giants, same with werewolves but none of the other three."

"A good friend of mine is half-giant. The papers found out and ran him into the ground. As his friend I figured I should know as much about his situation as possible."

"You mean Hagrid?"

"Yeah, you know Hagrid?"

Macnie shrugged his shoulder. "I didn't really know him while I was at school but my aunt is good friends and colleagues with him."

"Really? Who's your aunt?"

"Aunt Minerva."

If Harry was drinking something he would have spit it out. "Professor McGonagall is your aunt?"

"Yeah. Her maiden name is Macnie. She's my dads older sister. Why do you seemed so shocked? Surely you've noticed the color of the tartan she wears? Its the colors of the Macgregor clan, which the Macnie family is a part of but the McGonagall family isn't."

Harry held up his hands defensively, not wanting James to be offended. "I'm just shocked of the thought of McGonagall having a family. I can't picture any of the professors having a family really, not just McGonagall."

"Uncle Faolan was killed by You-Know-Who personally in 1977 when I was ten, he was a Hit Wizard. They were married for thirty years. My cousins Ceana and Caitir were nineteen and fifteen at the time. Ceana is the Headmistress at the Augurey School of Spellwork in Ireland and Caitir is the Transfiguration professor at the Fresno Institute of Magic in the United States, in case you were wondering. Neither are married though Ceana is engaged."

"I never knew..."

Macnie shrugged his shoulders. "Most people don't."

"What about Dumbledore? Do you know if he has any family?"

James scratched the back of his head in thought. "Well you know about his brother Aberforth right?"

"Yeah he did something with goats right?"

The Slayer laughed. "I asked Aunt Minerva about that. Apparently Aberforth got a little drunk one evening and charmed a farmer's goats to talk. The Headmaster found the entire situation hilarious but the Ministry didn't seem to think so. According to Aunt Minerva, you should have heard some of the things the goats were saying."

Harry chuckled at the thought of talking goats and muggles' reactions to such things. He could imagine the heart attack Uncle Vernon and Aunt Marge would have if Ripper, that viscous bulldog, started spewing some vulgarities.

"The Headmaster had a wife, for forty some odd years. She was killed by Grindelwald's forces in 1943. He had two sons, Wulfric Dumbledore was killed by Grindelwald in 1945. Nicholas Dumbledore is still alive, he's around 75. Then there's a daughter, Rowena Dumbledore, she's around 68. Nicholas, after moving to the United States, had a son named Wulfric, named after his deceased uncle, who is in his mid-forties and an Ambassador to Japan for the States. Wulfric has a son named Edward who I believe just graduated from the Academy of Wizardry in Central Park. Rowena, now Rowena Dempsey has a son named Brad who is 37 and a French Unspeakable, and a daughter named Ariana, 34, who is the Charms professor at Beauxbatons. Ariana married Francis Delacour, brother to Jean Delacour, whose daughter Fleur you should know. Brad has three children attending Beauxbatons, Alexa, Landon and Avery, who are 15, 14 and 11 respectively. Ariana has a daughter named Olympe, who is 13 and also a student at Beauxbatons."

"How do you know so much about the Dumbledore family?" Harry wondered.

"Well Aunt Minerva was a year older than Rowena Dumbledore in Hogwarts, both Gryffindors, and they became friends. Aunt Minerva has also been working with the Headmaster for forty years now. Our families have always been close."

Harry nodded his head, it made sense. If he lived long enough to have kids, he figured they'd be friends with every child Ron and Neville had, as well as the children of all the people he trained with in the mornings.

"Now back on the subject of giants. Obviously you know that there skin is tough to penetrate with magic. You generally need more wizards to bring down a giant then a dragon."

"Yeah, but dragons have a weak spot; their eyes."

James nodded his head. "Correct. Which is the same with giants. However, there are more spots then just there eyes in which to target. Like every other creature out there, giants are also weak at their ears, mouth and nose. If you can land a powerful bludgeoner up a giants nose or into its ear, you will scramble its brain. If you get it to open its mouth, try to hit it with something to cut out its tongue, knock out some teeth or anything else to cause damage."

"Yeah but thats still out of the reach of a grounded witch or wizard. You can use brooms but you'd have to be pretty good to get close enough to land a shot into one of its face holes. That or have some pretty damn good accuracy."

"True. Which is why you would need, on average, a dozen witches and wizards of average power to take one down. However, if you have someone powerful enough, say Dumbledore or you in a few years, you could probably get a spell deep enough to cause some damage. Giants have similar body structures to humans, since they are in theory very large humans. The Achilles tendon is only protected by four to five inches of thick skin. If a powerful magical person hit the back of the ankle with an overcharged cutter, they'd be able to bring the giant to its knees. From there, the eyes, ears, nose and mouth are roughly five feet closer and the giant is relatively stationary."

* * *

"My lord, I think one of Selwyn's subordinates is having second thoughts. She might desert."

Voldemort surveyed Avery with his cold red eyes, debating whether or not to curse the man for barging into the room without being called in without announcing himself. Avery may have been a Death Eater from the last war, but he had the last of his inner circle to join him. Avery joined the ranks of Death Eaters late in the year 1980, fresh from Hogwarts. He had joined the inner circle after leading a group of Death Eaters to victory against Ministry Aurors who outnumbered them two-to-one. The man hadn't really learned how to act around his lord.

Voldemort flicked his wand, Avery's head snapping back as a powerful force slapped across his face. Avery turned toward his lord with wide eyes, his upper lip split open and his cheek starting to swell.

"You would do well to remember to knock before entering my throne room Avery."

Avery dropped to his knees and bowed low to the ground. "Of course my lord. I beg forgiveness for my stupidity."

"You are to leave in a few minutes to begin the new recruits weekly training. Which recruit is it? I will observe your training and observe them."

"Helen Edgecombe."

"Very well. Go start their training. I will show up half-way through and observe her."

Avery quickly nodded his head, standing up from his kneeling position and moving quickly from the room. Voldemort scratched his chin, trying to think of what to do if the woman did turn out to regret her decision. If she projected her thoughts like most did, he'd be able to find her views on joining the Death Eaters without having to even be in the room. If she had taken Mind Magics at Hogwarts, studied Occlumency on her own or just had a naturally strong mind, he would need eye contact. Either way, he knew he could easily get the info from her. He was after all the greatest Legilimens in recent history.

Avery felt his Dark Mark warm slightly and excused himself from the training quickly. As soon as he stepped outside he came face to face with his lord.

"She is projecting her thoughts like a simple first year. Not only is she having doubts, but she is thinking of approaching Amelia Bones to give her all the information she knows about us. We can not allow this."

"Do you want me to kill her my lord?" Avery asked, eager to prove himself after barging in unannounced earlier in the day.

Voldemort shook his head, wondering why he surrounded himself with idiots. Avery was a good fighter and one of his better commanders, but the man was an idiot when it came to other things. "If we murder her, her disappearance will get an Auror team investigating. If the team is competent enough they'll be able to track her magical signature here through her apparitions. We can't have that, can we?"

Avery flushed, cursing himself for forgetting that apparition was easily track-able, especially for law enforcement officials. That was taught in the first apparition class sixth years participated in. It was why you never apparated right to your base of operations after an attack.

"If you don't mind me asking, what will you do my lord?"

Voldemort contemplated telling the man, and thought it would be best to tell him, as well as everyone else. "I'll erase her memory of the training sessions and of ever being approached by Selwyn. Then I'll implant a piece of magic in her brain that when activated will give me control of her, similar to the Imperius Curse. I'll keep her in the Ministry, never having her think she strayed from her dull life and then when it suits me best, I'll use her."

The Magical Law Enforcement Squad member-turned Death Eater knew such magics of the mind were beyond him, but he understood the gist of it. He never would have thought of such a thing. He knew most wouldn't think of such a thing and would settle either on killing her, keeping her prisoner or just erasing her memory. Few would ever think of using her like so. It was why the Dark Lord was the Dark Lord.

"You will discreetly put her under the Imperius curse and have her leave the room. I will take it from there. Tell the others, she has changed her mind and will be obliviated. They might be suspicious but when they see her at work tomorrow, none of them will think anything of it."

"Of course my lord."

* * *

Rookwood, Travers, Dolohov, Mulciber, Rodolphus, Yaxley and Rabastan were all given a relatively clean bill of health and had returned to his inner circle. Bellatrix was still being observed because she was apparently showing signs of aggressive psychoticism she didn't have before. Ethan Rosier, who was one of Voldemort's "friends" in his last two years of Hogwarts and whose son Evan was killed by Alastor Moody in 1981, was still frail after his sixty-nine year old body spent sixteen years in the prison. Luckily Rhydian had hired several Medi-Wizards from Russia to take care of the recent escapees, who had all sworn oaths to treat the patients to the best of their abilities without revealing the identities to anyone.

"Dolohov, Mulciber during your absence Avery has done all of the training. Now that you two are back, I want you two to take care of the training. Avery, focus all your attention on keeping an eye on Amelia Bones. Her niece has been reported to be training with Potter and I don't want Bones to be working against me without me knowing."

The three men nodded their heads, Avery finally glad to be rid of his teaching duties. He was a fighter, not an educator. Let that job fall to Dolohov and Mulciber who were better fighters and much more patient men.

"Selwyn, one of your underlings you recruited was going to desert us and come clean to Bones. Luckily Avery spotted it and I stopped her from doing anything. Edgecombe is no longer one of us and she has no idea of ever being one of us. Keep it that way."

"Of course my lord."

"Rodolphus, how is Bella?"

The man in question sat up a little straighter in his chair after being addressed. He was still pale and his face gaunt, but he had gained back most of his former body weight in the two months he had been free of Azkaban, thanks to the work of nutrient potions.

"Physically she is well my lord. Mentally though, she is unstable. She is easier to anger, paranoid and more aggressive then I ever remember her being."

Voldemort let a small smirk work its way on his face. "Maybe we should leave her how she is."

"My lord?" Rodolphus asked, questioningly.

"She is one of our better fighters. As long as this behavior doesn't inhibit her fighting abilities, leaving her like so will make her more frightening to both our enemies and our own side. Could be beneficial."

Rodolphus opened his mouth but quickly closed it. Although he didn't voice his opinions that he didn't want his wife behaving in such a way, Voldemort could read his thoughts. The Dark Lord could tell Rodolphus vehemently disagreed with such a course of action, though he would never voice such things out loud.

"You disagree Rodolphus?"

Rodolphus quickly shook his head. "Of course not my lord. Whatever you command!"

Voldemort flicked his wand, the Lestrange heir falling backwards off his chair, where he landed on the ground with one hand clutching his now bruised cheek.

"Do not lie to me Rodolphus. I know you want nothing to do with such a plan. Do you think me stupid?"

"No my lord!" the man cried, scrambling to his feet and back into his seat.

"Rabastan, Dumbledore has most likely started up his Order again. I want you to keep tabs on all of the old members, so we know which ones are still in it. Use some of the younger members, like Pucey, to help you. The rest of you, prepare yourselves for in six weeks we attack Hogsmeade and capture Potter."

A/N: Dumbledore's family isn't important in this story but they will play a role in the sequel. Dumbledore is 115 years old for future reference.

Brother Aberforth is 110 years old. Bartender at Hog's Head. Never married.

Wife Alicia was killed in 1943 by Grindelwald's forces after 41 years of marriage. They married in 1902, when Dumbledore was 21.

Son Wulfric was killed in 1945 by Grindelwald at the age of 37, he wasn't married at the time.

Son Nicholas, 75, wanted out of the U.K. after the war with Grindelwald in 1945. Was originally an Ambassador to the U.S. for Great Britain for thirty years before retiring there.

Daughter Rowena, 68, married Charles Dempsey and moved to France. She was a Spell Crafter for a private company before retiring in 1962.

Grandson and Nicholas' son Wulfric, 44, is an ambassador to Japan for the U.S.

Grandson and Rowena's son Brad, 37, is a French Unspeakable.

Granddaughter and Rowena's daughter Ariana, 34, is a Charms professor at Beauxbatons. She married Francis Delacour, Fleur's uncle.

Great grandson and Wulfric's son Edward, 17, just graduated from the Academy of Wizardry in Central Park.

Great granddaughter and Brad's daughter Alexa Dempsey, 15, is a student at Beauxbatons.

Great grandson and Brad's son Landon Dempsey, 14, is a student at Beauxbatons.

Great granddaughter and Brad's daughter Avery Dempsey, 11, is a student at Beauxbatons.

Great granddaughter and Ariana's daughter Olympe Delacour, 14, is a student at Beauxbatons.


	17. Plots

Yes I know Dumbledore is gay in canon. Yes in my story Dumbledore was friends with Gellert. No my story does not always follow canon.

Chapter 17 Plots

**April 6th**

Having the Grey Lady, a ghost, teach potions was probably not the brightest idea. When potions started getting hazardous it was usually up to the teacher to notice the mistake the student was making and either correct the mistake or get rid of the potion. With a ghost being the professor, well Harry didn't want to think about how it was going to go; though he'd find out when he had potions tomorrow.

He was worried, as this was the first morning back from his suspension. Hermione had assured him no one in Gryffindor and no one from the training group thought less of him. His hatred from the Slytherins couldn't get any worse, so he wasn't worried about them. As for the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, well he was told he didn't endear himself to some of them. However, that was fine by him. As long as those he counted as friends still trusted in him, then the others could all jump off a cliff for all he cared.

"Harry!"

"Good to see you back."

"How was your suspension?"

"You're my hero! Snape's been pissing me off for years!"

Harry laughed at Seamus' statement, accepting the handshakes, hugs and slaps on the back from all the students he trained with in the morning. He had gotten a run down of everything that went on while he was gone from Ron, Neville and Hermione last night, when he had arrived back at the school. It didn't seem like anyone thought too badly of him after all, even the four Slytherins.

"Thanks guys. I shouldn't have done what I did to Snape but I appreciate the support. Now lets not put this training off any longer. I have some new things I want to show you."

They all agreed, curious as to what Harry could have possibly learned while suspended. He chatted idly with Wayne Hopkins as he ran, since the muggle-born had built up his stamina to go along with his speed, making him the only one able to keep up with Harry's fast pace. Apparently Wayne had been attacked again by cloaked figures, except this time there was only two of them and Wayne was able to defend himself properly.

"I have you to thank for that Harry," Wayne stated between heavy breaths. "If you hadn't agreed to train me, I would have been in the Hospital Wing again, or worse."

Harry and Wayne came to a stop, both bending over and putting their hands on their knees as they breathed heavily to catch their breaths. "You had the skills and talents Wayne, I just...I just helped you hone them."

"So what's this new thing your teaching us?"

Harry smirked at the Hufflepuff as slowly, one after another, the rest of the students came to a stop. Harry scrunched up his face and suddenly a twelve foot tall mountain troll popped into existence. In one of its hands it clutched a large club, almost as long as the troll was tall. Everyone jumped back, some letting out screams of fear at the creature in front of them.

"Its ok guys, its not an actual troll. Its just a dummy I'm using to help you learn what I'm going to teach. This is your standard mountain troll, the biggest and dumbest of the troll family. If you were to run into your run of the mill troll you can easily beat it, doing something any first year can do."

"Jump on its back and shove your wand up its nose?" Ron asked, sarcastically.

"I was eleven and it was only two months into my first year," Harry stated, defending himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Getting back to the lesson, you can cast a simple levitation charm on its club. That takes away its weapon and then you can proceed to drop its club on its head, as Ron effectively demonstrated Halloween our first year."

"You guys fought a troll as first years?" Hannah Abbot demanded.

Ron and Harry shared a look. "Well yeah," Ron said, in a voice that seemed to ask 'doesn't everybody?'

"However, most trolls who work under humans, whether they be security trolls or trolls under the service of a dark lord, most likely had their weapons enchanted to prevent anyone from using magic on them. Luckily, though resistant to magic somewhat, your average troll isn't anywhere as resistant as a dragon or giant. That means your average witch or wizard can take down a troll, if they overpower their spells. A bludgeoner to the face of a troll would be like a right hook to one of us."

Harry indicated for Wayne to demonstrate what Harry meant. The Hufflepuff stepped forward and took aim with his wand; "_Feri_."

The jet of light hit the troll dead center, snapping the trolls head back and sending blood flowing down the trolls face. After Harry was sure everyone got a good look at the damage caused, he made the room put the troll back into perfect health.

"Any overpowered spell can cause damage to a troll. Colin, think of a spell and use it."

Colin stepped forward, launching a cutter right at the troll's stomach. It cut through the skin of the stomach, opening a large gash, blood pouring from the wound. Harry allowed everyone to get a shot, fixing the troll after every spell caused its damage.

"As you can see its pretty easy to take down your average troll. However, at the start of the last war Voldemort," almost everyone in the room shuddered, "realizing the general ineffectiveness of trolls in long distance battles started equipping trolls with armor."

Suddenly the troll had on a metal helmet that covered its entire head except the eyes and mouth, and most of its neck, and a chest plate. Harry waved his wand, shooting a spell that hit the chest plate and dented it, but caused no damage to the troll. He tried a few more spells, each having the same effect when hitting the metal plate.

"Now, unless the armor is made by an idiot, it will most likely be enchanted to be resistant to magic. You can still target the arms, legs and neck of the troll. It will take a lot of damage and spells to kill a troll by way of one of its limbs because most people aren't powerful enough to cause significant damage with one spell in its torso, let alone its limbs. As for its neck, well you're most likely shooting these spells from at least twenty-five feet away since the twelve foot club, added to its seven foot reach, makes for at least nineteen feet you should have between you and it. The gap between chest plate and helmet is inches. How many people think they can hit such a small gap from twenty-five feet away?"

Only a dozen raised their hands. Harry smirked at them as square targets three inches big appeared twenty-five feet from them. He raised an eyebrow in challenge, waving an arm at the targets in a 'go ahead' gesture. Every student tried to hit the target with ten or so spells. Only four students hit it, and out of those four only one hit it more then once. Harry, the most accurate one in the group, tried it and only hit four out of ten.

"Its hard to hit such a small target from such a distance. So you can keep pounding at its limbs, hoping the damage will add up and take it down or you can try other tactics. The best one is try to use physical objects. Conjure large boulders and banish them at the troll. Try to tangle its feet with rope or something to bring it to the ground. Be creative."

Harry glanced at his watch. "Sorry guys, thats it for today. We've already ran three minutes pass our usual ending time."

Hermione came up to Harry, beaming at the lesson he had just taught them. "When you told us Dumbledore was having you learn some things to help in the war, I never thought it would be something like that."

"Yeah. McGonagall's nephew, James Macnie, showed me it."

Hermione grabbed his hand in her own, linking their fingers. She could feel the slight tension in his hand. "Whats wrong?"

Harry glanced around, slightly uneasy. "Its nearing the end of the year. Something always happens at the end of the year."

Hermione thought back to her years at Hogwarts up to that point. The Sorceror's Stone and the protections to get to it, the Chamber of Secrets, Sirius and Pettigrew, and the Third Task instantly popped into her head. Harry was right, something always did happen at the end of Hogwarts. At least, something always happened to him.

"I think we should have a way to get in contact with everyone. In case something happens. It would be nice to know that we wouldn't have to do things just me, you and Ron. That we would have others we could rely on."

Hermione squeezed Harry's hand in reassurance. "I'll come up with something."

* * *

**April 15th **

"Fudge is acting more and more paranoid everyday." Lucius stated. "He's convinced Dumbledore, Potter and Bones are out to get him."

Voldemort looked thoughtful. He wondered if perhaps he should push back his plan to capture Harry Potter and wait to see what Fudge did. He quickly shook his head. He had put this plan ahead of all others. Why wait to see what Fudge could do when he had a plan to get rid of Potter once and for all?

"Let him go down his path of delusions. Fudge is of no consequence to us and will be taken care of shortly. And with Fudge killed, the Ministry will be in need of a new Minister. That is where you come in Lucius. You must either win the election yourself or make sure the new Minister is under our thumb."

Lucius eyes gleamed at the thought of being Minister. "I will make sure it happens my lord."

"Rhydian you will assist him."

"As you wish."

Voldemort sneered slightly at the lack of 'my lord' at the end of Rhydian's statement but let it pass. He usually let his old acquaintances from his Hogwarts days get away with more then the others. "Now I believe your son is right, Lucius, in that the easiest way to get Potter out of the castle, short of dragging him out by his hair, is by putting someone he cares about in danger outside its walls. What of Black?"

Rabastan, who had been keeping tabs on the members of Dumbledore's Order that had survived the first war, spoke up; "Out of the country my lord, along with the werewolf Lupin and another of the original Order members, the ex-Auror Doge."

"Then it must be either the Weasley boy or his mudblood. They mean as much to him as Black does. Contact your son Lucius and get him to instruct several faithful students to grab either one of them and drag them into the forest, where we will set the trap. Lucius what is your plan?"

"There is a clearing in the forest, a mile outside the wards where we will set the trap. I will set up most of my force under the Disillusionment Charm and hidden in the surrounding trees and brush. Only five or so of us will be visible to Potter and whoever he brings with him. Potter might have some others as backup, a reserve unit to back him up if he should walk into a trap. I don't dare give him that much credit but it is best not to underestimate him. I'll make sure our trap isn't sprung until we know the full manpower Potter has backing him up."

Voldemort nodded his head, approving of Malfoy's plan to capture Potter. The Head of the Malfoy family was right, it wasn't smart to underestimate Potter. He knew there was more to the plan, but he didn't care the details. He wasn't a tactician. He was a strategist, a warrior and a leader but not a tactician.

"Good. As for our assault on the village, I will send the Dementors in first to feast. When they are driven back, we'll move in two teams. One through the residential area and the other through the commercial district. The four giants will follow the teams, focusing more on the buildings then the people. I will stay back until we are sure exactly where Dumbledore is, then I will move to engage him."

Eager looks appeared on several of the Death Eaters faces, anticipating the fight that was to come. They had remained passive for fourteen years, it was time for them to spill blood again.

"What of the Ministry employees we train my lord? Do you wish any of them to participate in the battle?" Mulciber asked.

Voldemort thought of it for a second. Were any of them actually useful? "The Hit Wizard, Pierce. He will be a good asset in a fight. The others, however, are useless. We'll save them for another battle."

"Of course my lord."

"Prepare yourselves. We strike on the first of May."

* * *

**April 17th**

Fudge allowed Umbridge to sit down before sliding a folder across the table. "Amelia has been acting strangely. She requested more money for her department and has accepted Gregory McDuff and Mike Norton, two amateur duelist, to be Hit Wizards. They are going through a quick basic program and will be available for service in two months."

Umbridge opened the folder and examined the few pieces of parchment within it. "Only six new employees have been accepted into Auror or Hit Wizard training in the pass ten years. Why accept two so quickly?"

"I think she's collaborating with Potter and Dumbledore."

"You think she believes the lies about You-Know-Who too?"

Fudge looked at his Undersecretary as if she was an idiot. "What? No. McDuff was a good friend of her brother Edgar and Norton is a second cousin of hers. If there was a coup in the Ministry, they would side with her."

Umbridge stared at the Minister in mild-shock. "You think they are going to try to overthrow the government?"

"Yes! Dumbledore is rumored to have a vigilante group, Potter is training over thirty students to fight and Bones is securing the loyalty of most of the Magical Law Enforcement Department! Not to mention the political power all three of them have separately, let alone combined!"

Umbridge thought it over. Maybe the Minister was right, maybe Dumbledore had wanted to overthrow him and was using Potter as his pawn. Then the pawn roped him a powerful ally on the inside, joining together to create a powerful trio.

"We can't let this happen! We need to act quickly."

If Umbridge wasn't so devoted to Fudge, or even if she was halfway intelligent, she would be able to tell the signs of paranoia Fudge was displaying. She would dismiss Fudge's claims of an upheaval by a school Headmaster, a fifteen year old and a Ministry employee. However, she was a firm supporter of the Minister and hated Potter, Dumbledore and Bones as much as Fudge did. Even if she had doubts about such things being false, why would she pass up an opportunity to strike against three people she despised?

"What do you propose?"

"Potter returned from his suspension eleven days ago. We need to strike sometime before school gets out, to get them all in one swoop. If I can get Dumbledore to the Ministry for several hours that would allow you to go into the school without much opposition. Bring every person in the Magical Law Enforcement who we know for sure is loyal to me with you and arrest Potter and his group of followers." Fudge sneered at the last part.

"Arrest them on what charges?"

"Plotting to overthrow the government!"

"Wouldn't it be easier to wait for them all to be out of school? Take them down one by one?" Umbridge questioned.

"Then you get parents and the students families involved. Not to mention some of these children, likes Bones, Longbottom and the Patils, live in manors that are heavily warded. The Ministry can't just waltz into these mansions like we can Hogwarts."

"What about Bones and Dumbledore? What do you plan on doing about them?"

Fudge rubbed his chin in thought. "I'll fire Bones and have a complete overhaul of her department. Get rid of every Auror, Hit Wizard and MLES member loyal to her. It might bring the department to half strength, but it will only take a few months to bring the numbers of Hit Wizards and MLES members back up to par.

"As for Dumbledore, I'll have him exiled from this country. I'll declare that any who communicates with him is committing a crime against their country."

"You will meet strict resistance Minister," Umbridge said, reminding the man of exactly who he was going after.

"It needs to be done for the safety of the government and the safety of this country."

* * *

**April 21st**

"Amos what are you doing in my office?" Amelie Bones asked as she fully stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

The Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures didn't turn around as his fellow head entered her office. The window, which showed London from the point of view of a high-view office, even though the office they were in was underground, was letting in the full force of the morning sun.

"Its time we take action," Amos stated.

Amelia walked around to the other side of her desk and sat in her chair. She surveyed the man across from her. Amos Diggory had let himself go after his son had died ten months ago. He always had a scruffy beard but it was now thick and full. His eyes were blood shot and he had dark circle under his eyes. He was also paler and skinnier than he used to be.

"What do you mean action?" Amelia asked, cautiously.

"You know You-Know-Who is back. I know You-Know-Who is back. There is no need to beat around the bush, I've got enough wards on this room to make sure Fudge doesn't hear anything. I don't know if you noticed but Rufus Fudge has been keeping a close eye on you, same with Jonathon Avery Jr."

Amelia nodded her head slightly, having noticed Rufus Fudge watching her closely. Avery, however, was a surprise. She hadn't noticed anything strange from the man. Both of them worked for her, as Magical Law Enforcement Squad members.

"Rufus for his father and Avery for You-Know-Who," Amos stated, solemnly.

"We have no proof that Avery is working for You-Know-Who," Amelia pointed out, trying to remain impartial.

"Stop playing politics with me Amelia! I believe everything Potter said at the end of that fucking tournament. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott and Avery are Death Eaters. I know it and even if you don't want to admit it in public, you know it as well."

"So what if I know it? Fudge is handcuffing the entire Ministry when it involves this. I already put in a request for more money and am training two new Hit Wizards. There isn't much else I can do if Fudge doesn't approve of it. He's already suspicious of me as it is."

"You don't think I'm handcuffed too? But I've still been doing things. You know Macnair?" Amelia nodded her head, knowing of the Ministry's main Executioner. "Also a suspected Death Eater mentioned by Potter. He asked for personal leave several months ago because his father fell ill, at least that whats he told Fudge, when he went over my head and asked the Minister for his time off. I had a man follow him for a few weeks. Macnair goes back and forth between an old muggle manor in York, that for some reason is heavily warded, and to the mountains in southeastern France, in giants territory. And that muggle manor? I asked some people in the muggle world. It belonged to a Tom Riddle, he purchased it in 1925 before suddenly abandoning it at the end of 1926. He hadn't returned since then but a boy with the name Tom Riddle visited it a couple time at the end of the 1940's."

"Is the name Tom Riddle suppose to be important?" Amelia asked, eyebrow raised.

"I've cleaned the trophy room at Hogwarts enough times while a student to know that a Tom Riddle of Slytherin won a special award for services to the school in 1943. I asked Dumbledore about it, and though he seemed reluctant to tell me, he admitted that Tom Riddle is the name of You-Know-Who, his real name, which he inherited from his muggle father."

The eyes of Amelia Bones widened in surprise at the information. That was unexpected. One would figure that someone who bigoted purebloods flocked to would be a pureblood as well. Now it seemed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was either a half-blood or a muggle-born.

"His claims of being Slytherin's heir?"

"Heir I'm not to sure of but definitely a descendant," Amos stated, solemnly. "Dumbledore confirmed his mother was a Gaunt. However, thats not all I found out involving this manor. The man I had trailing Macnair has reported that two other Ministry employees have been showing up at the manor as well."

"Which ones?" Bones demanded.

"Jonathon Avery Jr and Maddock Selwyn show up when Macnair shows up. My guess is, its when You-Know-Who calls a meeting."

"Do you think You-Know-Who resides there? Or maybe that could be where they're keeping the Lestranges and the other escapees."

Diggory shot her a look. "I think its both of them."

The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement leaned back in her seat. "So you've convinced me we have to do something and soon. What do you have in mind? Surely you aren't suggesting raiding this manor?"

"No. Voldemort is too powerful and if all the escapees are in relatively good health, we'd need thirty or forty Hit Wizards to take them down. Not to mention we have no idea how many other Death Eaters would be there."

"But if it ends this war before it starts..." Amelia trailed off.

"True, that would be a great thing but an operation that big needs the approval of Fudge, legally. We know where the manor is, I say we wait. Fudge needs to go, so we wait for a new Minister to do this thing right. Fudge is too much of a coward to stand up to You-Know-Who and is easily bribed, as Lucius Malfoy has showed us. If we can get Dumbledore and Potter to back us up, we'd have enough sway in the Wizengamot to impeach him and get someone knew as Minister."

"Who do we replace him with?"

Amos thought about it. Whoever was Minister needed a backbone and they couldn't be afraid to take action against the purebloods who supported Voldemort, many of whom were probably Wizengamot lords, or even heads of the Most Ancient and Noble families.

"What of you?" Amos asked.

Amelia shook her head. "I have no aspiration to be Minister. I am better at leading troops into battle then leading a country through a war. I want to stay where I am and bring this department up to war standards."

"Rufus is interested in being Minister but he's like you Amelia; better at leading troops then a country. I'd suggest Arthur Weasley but the man doesn't have the imposing demeanor or the cunning needed to be a Minister during a war. Ludo is too stupid to run a country. Most of the Auror and Hit Wizards wouldn't be good leaders..."

"What about you Amos? You seem like you have the drive, cunning and balls to be Minister against You-Know-Who," Amelia pointed out.

"I'd rather not," Amos muttered.

"Well unless we can pry Dumbledore from his post in Hogwarts, you are probably the best bet."

"Fine. I'll run for Minister but only if Dumbledore refuses to leave Hogwarts."

Amelia smiled and leaned forward in her seat. "Now how do we get rid of Fudge?"

* * *

**April 26th**

"We'd like to thank you Harry," Daphne started.

"You trained us to be better, treated us like everyone else and made sure everyone treated us like everyone else as well," Tracey finished.

Harry shook his heads at the two Slytherins. "People treated you the way they did because you talked to them and were nice to them. I may have asked them to look beyond the simple fact that you guys were Slytherins but its your personalities that made them accept you as friends, rather then training buddies."

Tracey smiled, liking how humble the Boy-Who-lived was. "We'd still like to thank you. Not to mention you improved my defense grade from a D- to an A. I may not be moving on to NEWT level DADA but at least I'm getting an OWL."

"You never know. I heard their including some dueling into the Defense OWL, meaning you have a shot to get an exceeds expectations. You're a pretty good duelist."

"I'm a good duelist because of you."

"We both are," Daphne added. "Along with almost everyone else we train with."

Harry would have responded but was interrupted as Anthony Goldstein came rushing over to Harry. The Ravenclaw glanced briefly at the two Slytherin girls before focusing fully on Harry.

"Harry I need your help."

Harry, Daphne and Tracey all shot Anthony a look. "Ok, what do you need help with?" Harry asked.

"I need your help with Kylie Jameson and Jessica Stiller."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "The sixth year Hufflepuffs?"

"Those are the ones," Anthony confirmed, nodding his head vigorously.

"What do you need help with?"

Anthony placed his hands on Harry's shoulders and leaned in, looking him eye to eye. "A double date. I get Kylie, cause she's prettier but Jessica ain't too bad looking either so you should be good."

Harry rolled his eyes at Anthony and shrugged the Ravenclaw's hands off his shoulders. "I'm dating Hermione. I doubt she'd appreciate me going on a double date with another woman."

"Yeah I don't think we need to be here for this," Tracey muttered.

"Too true Trace. Stay loyal to your girl Potter."

Harry gave Daphne a look, as if even suggesting him straying from Hermione was a smart decision. The two Slytherins walked off, shooting amused looks at Harry and Anthony as they went.

Anthony shook his head, looking at Harry in mock-pity. "She's already got you on a leash."

"What leash? There's no leash."

"Poor guy forced to react to the whims of his girl," Anthony continued, not even hearing Harry. "Harry, I really need your help to seal this deal."

"I somehow doubt that."

Anthony help up one finger, all but shoving it in Harry's face. "Fame. You're the Boy-Who-Lived everyone in our society all across Europe, and I'm sure across the pond as well, know your name." Anthony put up another finger, wiggling both fingers for Harry to see. "Money. The Potters are loaded, therefor so are you. Ladies love men with money cause that means they get lots of shiny things."

"Who doesn't love things that sparkle?" Harry asked, sarcastically.

"Three," Anthony emphasized his third raised finger, "is your power. Not only are you from a Noble and Ancient family but you are also the biggest bad ass at Hogwarts and have taken on elite competition in fights and won. Chicks dig a man with power. And finally, we get to the final reason."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "This should be a good one."

"You are good-looking. Not as good looking as me of course..."

Harry snorted. "Of course."

"But good-looking none the less. You got four things the ladies love. If I want to hook up with Kylie, I'm gonna need a heavy hitter like you to set up the date and keep her friend distracted."

"Yeah, Anthony while sounding like a sure fire plan, it will back fire because I'm going out with Hermione and not only am I afraid of her, I am not the kind of guy to cheat on a woman he cares for."

Anthony fell to his knees and clasped his hands together, looking up at Harry with puppy dog eyes. "Please Harry. I need your help."

"Ask Terry. He's a lord, has money and I'm told by the ladies he's quite good-looking as well. Not to mention he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Fine but if I get turned down, I'm totally blaming you."

* * *

**April 29th**

Dumbledore smiled at the last of the Order members took their seat. With Sirius, Remus, Doge, Bill and Emmeline out of the country and Severus in the hospital, only two-thirds of the active members were in attendance. Moody sat to the Headmaster's left, Minerva sitting to his right. Flitwick and Hagrid were the other regular Hogwarts staff sitting in on the meeting. Tonks, Arthur, Hestia and current dueling professor Kingsley, were the members of the Ministry. Fleur, who became an active member after moving to Britain in December, after the dueling tournament, to start her Curse Breaking training, was also present. Then there was the bartenders Podmore and Aberforth, along with the thief Dung.

"Good evening everyone. I trust everyone is well?" Mutters went up throughout the group. "Excellent! Its been a while since we needed a meeting to be called, so I think it was wise to call one, just to stay up to date on information."

"The werewolf couple is doing well," Moody muttered before anyone else could say anything.

Some shot the ex-Auror a dirty look, not liking his referring to Darlene Tucker and Rod Sheen, the two recent Hogwarts graduates who were bitten by Greyback back in August, as the werewolf couple.

Diggle shrugged his shoulders. "The tai chi Remus has been teaching them has helped with their new aggression. They are still angry at what has happened to them but they aren't looking to go chasing after Greyback like before."

"That's good. It would be foolish of them to try to challenge Greyback. He is an alpha with a large pack. Even with the help of Remus they would fail," Dumbledore stated, reminding everyone that it wasn't just Voldemort that was a threat.

Moody snorted to himself. "Yeah well, they've also asked to be trained. I've been teaching them as much as I can whenever I'm not busy with Potter. They might be good against the lower level Death Eaters but I doubt either of them will be able to beat an Inner Circle member, even with their werewolf enhancements."

Podmore, not much of a fighter himself, shifted uncomfortably. "Hopefully, we have some time before battles are fought."

"You may hope but only an idiot would think such a thing true," Aberforth stated. "We'll be fighting soon. No way Voldemort is gonna sit tight for another few months, not after waiting a year already."

Hagrid nodded his head in agreement, his wild mane of hair flying everywhere. "Not with Macnair stirring up trouble in the giant clans."

"So what do we do?" Podmore asked.

Looks were passed between every member at the table. Would should they do? Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly.

"I advise we sit..."

"I'm tired of sitting around while the Death Eaters are out there making moves. I say we take action!" Moody exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table and making a few members jump.

"And what do you propose we do Alastor?" McGonagall asked, eyebrow raised.

"Every Tuesday night Avery, Nott, Crabbe and Jugson have a drink at the Dementor pub in Knockturn alley. I say we take them out."

"Take them out? Like kill them?" Diggle asked, nervously playing with his mustache.

"He means capture them. Don't you Alastor?" Flitwick looked at the ex-Auror, inquisitively.

"Whatever it takes," Mad-Eye muttered.

Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at everyone. "It sounds like it will be a splendid idea Alastor, once we fine tune it of course."

"We still got five days before they meet again. Besides, I'd rather do this with Black here. He's probably the best fighter we got outside of Albus. Any chance you know when he's coming back?"

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a second before nodding his head as the information came to the front of his mind. "Remus contacted me the other day. They cleared out the last of the Inferi and have located the item. All they have to do is remove the protections directly over it and they will be home shortly after. Tomorrow evening is the most likely time of their arrival."

Mad-Eye nodded his head. "Good. I say we burst into that bar wands blazing. Stun everything that moves. Doge, Remus, Sirius, Kingsley, Tonks, Frenchie..."

"My name eez Fleur," the French witch muttered.

"And myself should be enough. Maybe even Arthur's oldest if the kid is up to it. We'll have Tonks and a polyjuiced Sirius on the inside. The rest of us will be waiting outside for the signal."

"I agree that action is necessary Alastor, but lets wait for the others to come back before we start to hammer out the final details, this way they don't have to play catch up. After all you know how much Sirius hates being kept out of the loop."

Alastor snorted to himself. "Even after finding out he was innocent, I was still somewhat pleased he went to jail. If I had to deal with him eavesdropping on the Auror department one more time I would have AK'd him," Moody muttered, a small smile making its way onto his face as he remembered the days when Sirius Black was one of the best Hit Wizards the Ministry had to offer and James Potter was quickly following in the footsteps of his mentor, Moody himself, in becoming an outstanding Auror.

* * *

**May 1st**

Dumbledore looked at the note in his hands, the beginning of a smile making its way onto his face. It seemed Fudge wanted to hear Dumbledore's evidence that Voldemort had returned and was open to the idea of accepting such a thing as fact if enough evidence was presented. It seemed that the man was finally seeing things clearly now. The Minister had requested a meeting at ten in the morning. Looking at his watch. Dumbledore could see that ten in the morning was only seven minutes away. Best for him to leave now, giving him plenty of time to get to the Minister's office.

However, as the Headmaster stepped toward his fireplace to floo to the Ministry, the grate flashed green and a head appeared.

"Headmaster!"

"Madam Rosmerta? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked, smiling pleasantly.

"Dementors are in the village! They've already kissed a few people! And Davey Locke, well he swears he saw Death Eaters on the hills outside the town sir! Wards must have been erected. No one can apparate, portkey or floo out! I didn't think I'd be able to floo call you at all but I thought it best to try. Good thing I did."

The smile disappeared from his wrinkled face and a steely expression took hold. "I will be there momentarily to assist. Just let me gather some help."

The barmaid and owner of the Three Broomsticks vanished from his fireplace. Wards ruled out the possibility of rogue Dementors, no matter how much he wished it was just that. Quickly waving his wand, Dumbledore conjured a piece of parchment, quill and inkwell. He wrote_ 'Dementors and Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. Town unaccessible through magic. Meet outside gates.' _

He waved his wand one more time, multiplying the letter a dozen times. "Fawkes, take a note to Minerva, Filius, Sirius, Remus, Alastor, Elphias, Kingsley, Nymphadora, Fleur and Arthur. Hurry, please!"

The phoenix flew from his perch, grabbing the stack of parchments in his talons before disappearing in a flash of flames. Dumbledore grabbed some floo powder out of a candy dish above his fireplace and tossed it into the grate.

"Hagrid's hut!"

Stepping in, he disappeared with a 'woosh' and a swirl of green fire. Seconds after he left, his fireplace activated again and another head appeared, this one covered in a mop of red hair.

"Headmaster!" The redhead looked around, his face anxious. Upon seeing that the office was empty of human life, the redhead turned toward the other occupants in the room. "Portraits where did the Headmaster go?"

"There is an attack on Hogsmeade," former Headmistress Derwent explained. "He floo'd to Hagrid's hut to reach the village quicker."

The freckled face contorted into one of frustration, a low growl being emitted. "This isn't good."

"What the matter my dear boy?" Dippet asked from his frame, leaning forward in his painted seat.

"The Minister only asked Dumbledore to the Ministry to get him out of the school. He plans on arresting Potter and all of the students he trains with today! Dumbledore in Hogsmeade will have the same affect, except I can't intercept him there. Umbridge should be at the school doors with twenty-five law enforcement officials! And with Dumbledore going to Hagrid's hut, he won't be able to see the officials entering the school!"

The portraits muttered amongst themselves as Percy Weasley tried to think of a way he could save Harry Potter from being arrested of treason.

A/N: Here is a fun fact. The first of May is also known as May Day. Before it was known as May Day, May 1st was known, in Germanic nations, as Walpurgis Night. The Death Eaters, before being known as Death Eaters, were called Knights of Walpurgis. At least thats the name J.K. Rowling was thinking of calling them before falling upon Death Eaters. In my story, Knights of Walpurgis is their original name; what Rhydian Lestrange, Ethan Rosier, Jonathon Avery Sr. and Theodore Nott Sr. called themselves when they were friends with Tom Riddle in school; before Tom Riddle came back from traveling abroad, bearing the name Lord Voldemort full-time.

Voldemort is plotting to kill Harry and Fudge. Fudge is plotting to arrest Harry and get rid of Bones and Dumbledore. Diggory is plotting with Bones to get rid of Fudge. Dumbledore and his Order are plotting to strike against Voldemort. And poor Harry just wants to stay alive.


	18. The Forbiddden Forest Skirmish

Amos is still distraught over the death of his son. He accepts that it was Voldemort that killed Cedric and wants revenge, and so is taking a very active roll in this war. Its why he is actually doing something and Amelia is sitting back waiting for something to happen.

Chapter 18 The Forbidden Forest Skirmish

"I think something's going on in Hogsmeade," Neville murmured, staring out the window.

"Why do you think that?" Harry asked, moving over to where Neville sat.

"Well a bunch of figures emerged from Hagrid's hut and ran toward the village. One of them looked like Professor Dumbledore and others like McGonagall, Flitwick and Shacklebolt."

Harry scratched at his chin, curious as to what would send the professors running toward the village. "Wonder what they're up too."

"Well whatever it is, we'll find out about it later," Neville stated, shrugging his shoulders before getting up and moving to the staircase that led to the boys' dorms. Harry shrugged his shoulders in return and went back to working on his potions essay.

"Harry!"

The teen in question glanced up as Ginny came running over to him, panting heavily. She looked panicked and had an ugly bruise on her face.

"Ginny, whats wrong?"

"We were going for a broom ride and they took him!" Ginny cried out.

"Who? Took who?"

"Ron! They took Ron! Zabini, Goyle and someone else. I went to get a quaffle from the equipment locker and he went to get some brooms. I heard spell fire and when I got to the broom lockers Ron was being dragged and was half-way to the Forbidden Forest. I got on a broom to give chase but whoever the third person was, he's good. He blocked everything I threw at him and knocked me off my broom. Then he just walked away."

Harry's mind thought everything over. The fact that they had just let Ginny get away, not even stunning her, meant they wanted her to tell people. Specifically it seemed like they wanted her to tell him.

"Its a trap," Harry murmured, "and Ron's the bait. Something must be going on to prevent the teachers from helping."

Ginny looked at him in horror. "You're going to rescue him aren't you?"

"Of course I am but we need a plan and we need the others."

Harry grabbed the piece of parchment he always carried in his front pocket, every since Hermione had given it to him almost three weeks ago. When he wrote on it, similar pieces of parchment would start to vibrate and display his message to all those who had one. If everyone he trained with had theirs on them, then they would get his message right away.

'_Junior Death Eaters have taken Ron into the forest. It's a trap. They want me to rescue him. Any one who is willing, put on your dragon armor and meet me in the Entrance Hall. We're going after him._'

Ginny put her hand into her pocket, pulling out a piece of parchment that was vibrating in her palm. Harry nodded his head at her as he walked over to the staircase that lead to his dorm. Entering the room that had '_Fifth Years"_ carved above its dorm frame, Harry saw that Dean, Seamus and Neville were all reading over the parchment. He didn't say anything to them as he walked over to his trunk and popped it open. Underneath several sets of discarded school robes sat his battle armor, the one he had gotten made during the summer. He had then gone back to that shop and had gotten armor made for everyone he trained with, the bulk of them over Christmas and the rest as they slowly but surely joined the training sessions.

He made sure his armor was on properly before strapping on his three wand holsters. Dean, Seamus and Neville had dressed quickly, moving much quicker then his calm pace. Harry had been in these situations before. He had dealt with these kind of nervous and frightening situations before. After so many times you found yourself able to deal with the jittery feelings. For his other dorm-mates, this was their first time.

The Gryffindors gathered slowly, some stumbling down in their armor after being awoken from their weekend lie-ins, while others had to come running back from the library or a study room. Soon every Gryffindor he trained with was there, something he wasn't expecting. He looked them all in the eye, seeing determination and resolve looking back at him every time. With a nod of his head, he led them out of the common room and started the march to the Entrance Hall.

Half-way there the Gryffindors ran into the Ravenclaws. All of them were there as well, each of them dressed in their armor. They marched in silence, like the Gryffindors, thinking of what was to come. They had been taught to never underestimate a situation, to always think the most of their opponents. What was in store for them? What were they getting themselves into?

They were at the staircase that led from the second floor down to the Entrance Hall when things started going wrong. The doors to the school opened and standing in its door frame was Dolores Umbridge and twenty-four Aurors, Hit Wizards and MLES members. Her toad-like face stretched into a look of surprise before settling upon pleased as she spotted the armored students standing before her. Harry stood at the edge of the top stair, staring down at her with equal surprise, though his face showed more contempt than anything else.

He could see the seven Hufflepuffs and four Slytherins emerge from their respective staircases about ten feet below him. Thirty-seven students gathered in the Entrance Hall, everyone who Harry trained with had shown up, called to rescue one of their own. Yet, they found an obstacle in their way. What were Ministry officials doing in the school and why did they look like they wanted a fight?

"By order of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, you are all under arrest for conspiring to overthrow the Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom."

"You gotta be kidding me," Harry murmured, moving down a step.

Wands were raised in his direction, causing Harry to hesitate. They didn't need this right now.

"Lay down your wands and come quietly, or we will use force."

"We'll have to take a rain check," Harry called out, taking another step down the stairs. "I have to go rescue a friend in the Forbidden Forest."

Harry took another step forward, and Umbridge launched a stunner right at him. Harry easily deflected the spell but it opened the floodgates. The Ministry employees opened fire, raining spells on the students in front of them. The students defended themselves to the best of their abilities. Harry ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Beside him Dean Thomas was hit with a stunner, tumbling down the last few steps to lay motionless at the base of the stairs.

Fred, who was never one to appreciate authority and was anxious to rescue his brother, was the first one to fire an offensive spell; a simple stunner. The rest of the students, seeing they had no other choice, began to open fire with their own offensive spells, spreading out along the Entrance Hall to fight properly. Harry batted away a beam of light aimed at his face, catching one of the weaker MLES members in the chest with a stunner. A Hit Wizard stepped forward to engage the Boy-Who-Lived, his wand cutting through the air. Twirling around, Harry allowed the spell to fly by him, the piece of holly letting out a wave of purple magic.

The Hit Wizard ducked underneath the spell, where it was deflected quickly by an Auror that was fighting off the Patil twins. The Hit-Wizard launched a bludgeoner that Harry blocked with a quick shield, eyebrows raised at the spell. He thought the Ministry would be looking to stun because trained law enforcement officials injuring students probably wouldn't settle well with the public.

Harry watched another one of his spells get blocked and growled in frustration. He didn't have time for this, he needed to rescue Ron quickly. His explosion hex slammed into the floor, and although it didn't cause much damage to the magically enforced stone, flames and smoke rolled forward. The Hit-Wizard Harry was dueling with was forced to shield himself from the damage, not seeing the shield destroyer, follower by the stunner Harry sent his way. His opponent caught the red jet of light in the chest, dropping to the ground.

"Wha's going on 'ere?"

Hagrid had appeared in the Entrance Hall from the outside doors, looking upon the scene of Ministry officials dueling with some of the students. A look of confusion came upon Hagrid's face as he noticed the several downed students. A Ministry employee turned toward Hagrid and went to stun him but the half-giant's thick skin absorbed the spell. With a mighty roar, Hagrid reached down and picked up a Ministry official and tossed him into another official. The law enforcers moved away from Hagrid and the doors that led outside, and toward the Great Hall, where the wide open doors would provide them some cover from the students spell fire.

Professors Sprout and Vector chose that moment to descend from another staircase, where they paused in shock upon taking in the scene. Harry, seeing the opportunity presented to him, directed the students toward the now open main doors. Vector and Sprout went to go defuse the situation with the now angry Hagrid and the twenty Ministry officials, who were still exchanging spells with the students.

Harry, who was at the back of the group, waved his wand and deflected a barrage of spells into the floor. A piercing curse went flying by his left side, catching Lisa Turpin in the shoulder and causing her to stagger forward in pain. Harry twirled, deflecting another curse from Lisa but was forced to shield from several stunners that were aimed at him. One of the deflected spells hit Lisa, where she collapsed to the ground.

"They're escaping!" Umbridge shouted, pointing a stubby finger at the students who, upon exiting onto the grounds, took off running.

"Hagrid, get Madame Pomfrey for the wounded!" Harry shouted, indicating Dean Thomas, Romilda Vane, Derek Harper, Lisa Turpin, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Lavender Brown, Megan Jones, Mandy Brocklehurst and Angelina Johnson. He hadn't realized that many of his friends had fallen in the fighting. It had only been five, maybe six minutes of spell fire and already they had lost nine members.

Hagrid nodded his head, showing he heard Harry, even though he kept his focus on the Ministry employees. Harry took off running after the others, deciding on how he wanted to do this. If they wanted him to walk into a trap then he would, but he was going to set his own trap in the process.

The students had stopped and gathered outside of the forest, waiting for him to lead them. He stopped and surveyed them, wondering how he got himself into these situations.

"This is a trap." The group murmured amongst themselves, anxiousness making its way through the group. "Fred, George, Alicia, Katie and Cho go get some school brooms for yourselves. Follow us in the air. Susan, Eddie, Daphne, Terry, Kyle, Alex and Michael, you'll be Alpha. You guys will be the first ones to engage the enemy, to reveal where they are. Padma, Hermione, Wayne, Tracey, Ginny, Anthony and Su Li, you'll be Bravo and will position yourselves up in the trees. Angel, Luna, Parvati, Seamus, Colin, Jeff and Hannah, you guys will be Delta. I want you guys spread out on the ground and ready to assist once the trap has been sprung. Disillusion and silencing charms on everyone. Try not to step on any twigs and rustle any bushes."

Neville looked at Harry confused, not hearing his name mentioned. "What am I going to do?"

"Neville, you're with me. We'll be springing the trap."

* * *

The trees of the Forbidden Forest seemed to become more sinister looking the farther someone walked under their branches. Twisted and gnarled, the heavy canopy blocked out most of the morning sun, casting darkness on the disfigured looking trunks.

Harry and Neville walked as quietly as possible down the path, only aware of the few dozen other students by the occasional rustling of a bush or the snapping of a twig. Harry was using the 'Point Me' spell to find where Ron was. They had passed the school wards a little over half an hour ago, meaning it was possible older Death Eaters or even Voldemort himself were waiting for him wherever it was Ron was. He hadn't originally thought of that when this idea of rescue had first entered his mind. Now he wondered if he should send everyone back to the school, and go on alone.

Harry could see a clearing up ahead with some dark figures standing within it. Tied to a tree, struggling to free himself, was Ron. That was good because it meant the teen was still alive. Harry waved his wand, murmuring a spell Moody had taught him. The figures in the clearing lit up, at least to Harry they did, showing exactly where every visible person was situated.

"One to the left as soon as we enter," Harry murmured to his companion. "Behind that bush."

With deep breaths the two Gryffindors strode into the clearing, aware of where their opponents were. Which was why Harry was easily able to bat the Bone-Breaking Hex aimed at his knee cap back at its caster. The Death Eater, who wasn't suspecting such a thing, caught the spell in his wrist, which cracked loudly, the sound echoing throughout the forest. Ignoring the scream of pain from the imbecile of a Death Eater who tried getting the drop on Harry Potter, Harry and Neville surveyed the four other Death Eaters. Harry knew Goyle and Zabini were Death Eaters but Roger Davies, the Head Boy? Well that surprised the shit out of him. The other one was the older Malfoy. One could see wisp of the platinum blond hair the family of feminine men passed down from generation to inbred generation peaking out beneath the hood. There were more, hiding in the trees under disillusion charms like the students Harry had brought with him; he could feel their eyes on him.

"Put down your wands children or your dear ginger get it."

Harry snorted, wondering how stupid these Death Eaters were. "How about you remove your wand from my friend's throat and I won't castrate you."

Despite his attitude, Harry wasn't stupid. Before Harry could even get the first syllable of a spell out, Ron would be killed. Not to mention he and Neville had an unknown amount of wands trained on them. The broken-wrist Death Eater had staggered to join his brethren, his wrist clutched possessively to his gut. Five Death Eaters between him and his best friend.

"You speak as if you actually have the upper hand boy."

Harry snarled, hating being called a boy since it reminded him off the Dursley's. He could feel Neville tense up even tighter next to him. He didn't have to look to know the teen was clutching his wand in a death grip. Was asking all of them to come with him too much? Should he had tried the rescue mission on his own? Acting bravely before charging into the unknown was totally different than being brave when you discovered exactly how horrifying that unknown was.

He nudged Neville with his elbow, one of the Death Eaters raising his wand threateningly at the motion. Neville in turn fidgeted with his left hand, which made him seem nervous. At least to the Death Eaters. He was signaling Alpha, telling them to get ready. Harry coughed loudly, not bothering to cover his mouth as he stared at Malfoy. It seemed the older Malfoy was more about preservation then killing a member of a hated family. Instead of slicing open Ron's neck with a simple spell, Malfoy threw himself to the side, a shimmering purple light shot at him from behind missing him by inches.

Neville sprang forward toward Ron, hitting the ropes that bound him with a cutting hex. Ron immediately dropped to the ground as a jet of light slammed into the tree at chest level. Neville rolled into position beside Ron, shielding the redhead from another curse. Harry stepped toward Malfoy, deflecting the hex shot at him with relative ease. Susan Bones, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein became visible out of the darkness, engaging the other Death Eaters as Neville defended Ron from spell fire coming from the trees.

Harry fired a spell at Lucius, which was deflected with a swish of the older man's wand. If the Boy-Who-Lived was being honest with himself, Lucius Malfoy was a better fighter than he was, getting bested by a house-elf not included in that assessment. In fact, most of the Inner Circle were better fighters then he was. Which meant they needed to get the hell out of there quickly.

A Death Eater jumped out of the tree line, black light rocketing from the wizard's wand. Harry twirled around the spell from his newer opponent, and deflected Malfoy's curse into a tree. Several other Death Eaters had jumped into the fray and so had Eddie Carmichael, Daphne Greengrass, Kyle Summers and Michael Corner. Spells rained down from the tree lines, from both Death Eaters and students, creating a hectic looking battle.

The broken-wrist Death Eater got hit in the chest with a bludgeoner, collapsing to the ground wheezing heavily. Terry Boot was hit with a piercer in his thigh that dropped him to the dirt. Neville was sporting a bloody nose but Blaise Zabini laid on the ground at the teen's feet, bleeding from a gash in his chest.

A streak of light shot at Harry from the branches of a tree. Shielding himself from spell fire from three different directions, Harry dropped his protective magic and dove to the side. He launched an explosion hex at the branches that had fired at him. The tree exploded in a cloud of fire, the disillusionment charm on the Death Eater failing as their body fell ten feet to the ground.

As more spell fire was traded, it became harder to keep up the chameleon charm, causing more and more people to flicker into view. Death Eaters and students who had been hiding mere feet from each other and didn't know, suddenly became aware of each others presence. Those up in the trees either scrambled down from their perches or were knocked down in violent explosions as the spell fire picked up in intensity. Occasionally one of the students on brooms would dive through the canopy above, launching spells at the Death Eaters in the clearing.

Banishing a decaying log at Malfoy, the green-eyed wizard twirled and launched a blasting hex at his other opponent before turning some fallen branches into wolves. He set the wolves at the other Death Eater, who had managed to dodge his spell before turning his attention back to the bigger threat. A bludgeoner from Malfoy caught him in his side as he spun, making him stumble slightly to the side as felt a rib or two fracture. The other Ancient and Noble pureblood lord had turned the trunk into saw dust but was still somehow laying on the ground, even though he had clipped Harry with a spell. Hermione came running from out of the tree line behind Malfoy, her wand tip smoking slightly. Harry could see a hole the size of a golfball in Malfoy's chest, on the right side. Hearing a tearing a sound behind him, Harry saw that his wolves had managed to get pass the Death Eater's defenses and one of them had latched onto the man's throat. Grimacing at the disgusting sight before him, Harry turned to survey the battle.

A large Death Eater, most likely an Inner Circle member, was dueling Neville, Susan and Ron, who had managed to find a wand, and the man seemed to be doing so effortlessly. Harry could see that although, fortunately, none of the students were dead at least a dozen of them were sporting severe looking wounds. Still, they had gotten what they came for, Ron, and it was time for the, to get the hell out of there.

"Retreat!" Harry shouted, his wand letting off a gigantic band that temporarily defeaned everyone in the clearing.

Harry ran forward, slamming his shoulder into the Inner Circle member and knocked the man into the ground. At the same time, he launched a blaster into the side of a Death Eater dueling Ginny. The dark-robed figure was thrown off his feet, where he crashed into a tree.

Susan Bones led the charge out of the clearing, launching an explosion hex at the brush in front of her. The bushes and tree roots sticking out of the ground exploded in a cloud of dirt and wooden splinters, causing several Death Eaters to scramble away. Behind Susan, Parvati was hit in the face with a gray jet of light. She crumpled to the ground, causing several of the students to scream out in surprise. Neville quickly jumped in front of the downed girl, blocking a curse as Padma ran to her sisters side. Parvati got to her feet, one hand clutching her face, the other loosely holding her wand in her hand. Together the twins shuffled after Susan, Neville watching their backs.

Harry was hitting every piece of debris he could with a transfiguration spell, creating more wolves to distract the Death Eaters with. Neville charged at one of the Death Eaters who were still standing near the area the students were trying to escape from, engaging the dark wizard in a duel. Michael and Anthony led Luna, Angel, Colin, Hannah and Su, who were several of the wounded, through the hole Susan had made in the surrounding area.

The Inner Circle member jumped to his feet, launching a Killing Curse at Jeff, who was standing closest to the older Death Eater. Daphne tackled the Hufflepuff to the ground, the curse flying over both their falling bodies and hitting a tree, wooden shrapnel flying through the air. The tree tilted forward and started falling on the side of the clearing they were trying to escape from. Harry shouted warning to the students trying to flee through that area.

Neville, who was still in the area, was forced to roll out of the way, farther away from the clearing. Eleven of the students had managed to make it out of the battle zone through the clearing Susan had made, but they were now separated from the main group of students, those who were still stuck in the battle zone.

Harry conjured a block of marble that absorbed another Killing Curses. The man was throwing around the sickly-jet of green light like it was going out of style now. Harry really started fearing for everyone's lives. A piercing scream over his shoulder alerted him to another student going down.

Ron, who was limping heavily, knocked his opponent into a bush. The redhead gathered up his sister, who was just hit with a cutting charm in her left calf, into his arms and moved as quickly as his injured leg would allow him. He ran into the tree line, heading in a different direction then the first group of students had fled.

Behind Ron moved Daphne, Kyle and Tracey, trying to keep a group of five Death Eaters at bay. Wayne Hopkins threw a protesting Seamus, who was bleeding profusely out of his side, over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and followed right behind Ron. Eddie jumped in front of Alex, who had collapsed from a piercer that caught the teen right in the middle of his chest, and started dueling the Death Eater who had taken down his friend.

Terry struggled to follow Ron and Wayne, and had to be supported by Hermione. Harry batted away another of the Inner Circle's spells, waiting for more students to flee. Eddie knocked down his opponent before grabbing Alex by the arm and dragging the teen out of the spell fire. Harry, Daphne, Kyle and Tracey were the only ones still in the area, and almost as one, they all turned and fled.

Yells for the Death Eaters to split up echoed throughout the forest, as the students retreated back towards Hogwarts. Harry stopped Eddie from moving forward, in order to stop the blood flowing from Alex's chest. He bandaged the wound and gave the older teen a Pepper-up Potion. As Alex struggled to his feet, he was tugged along by Harry and Eddie, both of who feared they might have stopped too long.

* * *

Susan, Padma, Neville, Anthony and Michael were the only ones from their group relatively unharmed. They tried to move the six others students along quickly through the trees and to Hogwarts ward line. Neville wanted to go back in order to help the rest of the students, thos still trapped, escape. However, upon viewing the heavily limping Su and Colin, the bloody stomach of Angel, the slack right arm of Luna, the bruised and bloody face of Parvati and the missing three fingers on Hannah's left hand, he realized he was needed right where he was.

The group moved forward as quickly as possible, Susan on point and Neville bringing up their six. They could vaguely here the sound of people stomping noisily through the foliage behind them. They tried to pick up their pace but came to a dead halt a few meters later. Standing in front of them, their wands raised, were Umbridge and thirteen of her Ministry cronies.

"Where are the rest of you?" Umbridge snarled upon spotting the students.

Susan growled in frustration. "We gotta get out of here! Death Eaters are right behind us!"

"The terrorist group known as Death Eaters are not active! Now hand over your wands and direct us to where the rest of the students are."

"Fine. We'll hand over our wands when we leave the forest but we need to leave now!" Susan shouted.

Umbridge huffed in annoyance, tired with everything these students had put her through. "You will hand them over now!"

"Death Eaters are..."

"For the last time there are no longer Death Eaters!"

Neville, who was still at the back of the group, decided to intervene. "Duck!"

Dressed in his black robe, his hood thrown over his head and a white mask covering his face, the wizard that burst into the clearing could only be a Death Eater. The Death Eater was startled at the site of the Ministry wizards he saw in front of him and did the only thing he could think of. He launched a Killing Curse that slammed into an Auror, dropping the man quickly.

The Death Eater found himself being blown backwards from retaliating fire from the three Hit Wizards Umbridge had with her. Nine Death Eaters stumbled through the brush, spells shooting from their wands. Suddenly the Ministry wizards and the dark wizards were exchanging spell fire, the students caught right in the middle. With some urging from Neville, the students crawled out of the middle of the engagement and got onto their feet several meters from the action. They scrambled to their feet as the Ministry wizards began to push the Death Eaters back the way they came.

"What do we do?" Padma asked, frantically.

"Both groups have been shooting spells at us. We should just go around them, back to the castle," Susan answered.

* * *

Harry held up his fist, stopping everyone in their tracks. There was a weird noise coming from their left. It wasn't the sound of rushing footsteps that he could hear from behind them, it was something else.

"Harry, I recognize that noise," Ron muttered.

Tracey moved up next to Harry, whispering frantically in his ear. "Whats the hold up? The Death Eaters are right behind us!"

"Acromantulas," Harry and Ron stated at the same time.

"Acromantulas?"

"Giant spiders. We must be near their lair, which means we took a wrong turn somewhere. We need to get out of here, now!"

Tracey looked at the two of them in shock. "Who allowed giant spiders to live so close to the school?"

"Hagrid," they both answered immediately.

"Now run!"

The students took off at a faster pace, urging the wounded on. Harry felt them before they were fully upon the students. He turned to his side just as a large black shape launched itself out of the shadows. He hit the shape with a blasting curse, sending it flying back into the darkness.

"What do we do?" Ron asked.

They were being chased by Death Eaters and their flank was being attacked by giant spiders. Did they keep running, hoping they could keep both at bay? Did they stop and engage both enemies? Did he send the wounded on forward and keep the healthy back to fight?

"We keep moving. Eddie, Tracey and Daphne, you guys cover the rear. Kyle, Wayne and I will cover the left flank. Ron and Hermione, you guys get the wounded out of here. The ward line should only be another quarter mile or so further. We'll follow but at a slower pace."

An average-size acromantula charged through the trees, where it was hit with several cutters, which left large gashes in its body and chopped off a leg. A streak of light shot at them from the trees behind them, meaning the Death Eaters had caught up with them. Things weren't looking good, when they started hearing something from their right flank as well.

Harry had to stop himself from cursing Susan as she lead the other group of students onto the path Harry's group occupied. Harry quickly looked her group over, seeing that many of them weren't capable of fighting either.

"Susan are you guys being followed?"

Susan glanced behind her before shaking her head. "I don't think so. We ran into Umbridge trying to escape. When we left, her group and the Death Eaters were fighting it out."

"Good. You and Neville, help cover the rear. Anthony and Michael, help the flank defend against the spiders. Padma, help Hermione and Ron get the wounded out of here."

They rushed to do as he said as dozens of spiders came crawling out of the trees. Harry jabbed his wand forward, several vines becoming animated and grasping at the legs of two spiders. The vines continued to twirl up the legs, pulling the acromantulas down until their large bodies were pressed against the ground. More vines sprung from the ground, winding around the bodies and pulling them tightly against the dirt; extremely tightly until the bodies were crushed under the pressure. Dying shrieks filled the air as guts splattered the area.

Two broom riders swept down into the area, firing curses at the spiders as they flew. An acromantula jumped into the air, snatching a distracted rider in its pincers. The spider landed on the ground, the rider in its clutches letting out a terrified scream. Neville caught one of the spider's legs with a cutter, severing the limb; Susan hit its abdomen with a piercer at the same time, the spell tearing through its entire body and flying through the other side. The acromantula fell forward, releasing its grip on its prey. The student, Katie Bell, tumbled along the ground where she was quickly scooped up by Neville.

* * *

Dumbledore watched as the rest of the Death Eaters fled with the retreat of their master. The fight had very slowly been moving in Voldemort's favor, since at the age of 115 he no longer had the stamina to keep fighting for hours on end. However, Moody had arrived to assist him and together they had driven Voldemort back. He took a moment to survey the damage around him, noting that at least half of the town appeared to be either in flames or a pile of rubble on the ground.

Nine Ministry officials came limping out of the forest, a few of them being dragged due to injuries suffered. Dumbledore approached them, curious as to how they came to be in the forest in the first place. As far as he knew the fighting had moved toward the center of town, on High Street.

"Dumbledore!" one of them gasped upon spotting him. "Death Eaters are in the forest with students!"

Sirius, who had been near by making sure the Death Eater he had captured couldn't escape, raised his head quickly. He was under polyjuice, being reminded by Remus to take a sip of the potion in the middle of the battle; otherwise he'd find himself exposed to the Ministry officials that were now swarming the town. "We drove a giant into the forest!"

The color drained from the old man's face. Questions popped into his head but they would have to wait to be answered. For now Harry, because it was always Harry, needed him.

"I would like to know how a bunch of my students came to be in the forest and what you were doing in there with them but for now those questions must wait."

Sirius stood quickly, joining the Headmaster as he stalked into the forest, wands out in front of them. Dumbledore waved his wand, a ball of light flying from the tip of his wand and making its way forward. Dumbledore moved to follow the ball of light, and not knowing anything better, Sirius followed suit.

* * *

The spider exploded in a shower of goo, coating the surrounding trees in its thick texture. Harry turned, making eye contact with Wayne Hopkins. The Hufflepuff gave Harry a small smile and Harry went to return it. However, Harry's and Wayne's eyes widened in shock as a green jet of light slammed into Wayne's back. It seemed to happen in slow motion, the teen falling to his knees. With the small smile still on his face and his shocked eyes still locked with Harry's, Wayne fell face forward onto the ground, the stillness of his limp body contrasting sharply with the chaos still going on around it.

Harry looked up into the mask of the Death Eater who had cast the fatal spell. He launched a bludgeoner, which was deflected into the ground. Moving forward, Harry shielded against a pair of cutters aimed at his neck. The Death Eater shot a Killing Curse at him, forcing the Boy-Who-Lived to dive to the side. He came up right in front of a spider and found himself getting knocked on his ass by one of its long front legs. The spider went to stab him with one of its other legs and Harry had to roll to avoid it. He shot a powerful cutter upwards, bisecting the thing right down its middle. Spider guts fell on top of him, blinding him for several seconds as he furiously swiped at his face.

He got to his feet just in time to block a Bone-Breaker heading toward his shin. Getting fully to his feet he hit a severed acromantula leg with a transfiguration spell, turning it into a large grizzly bear. He sent the beast charging at the nearest spider, hoping the grizzly would be a match. Turning toward the Death Eater that killed Wayne, he sent a barrage of Piercing Hexes. The Death Eater was able to block most of them, however, one of the hexes hit him in his gut, sending him falling to the ground as the rest passed over his head.

Harry went to move closer but found a giant spider standing over Wayne's killer. Reaching down, the acromantula grabbed the Death Eater in its pincers and raised them into the air. Anguished screams came from the masked wizards mouth as the pincers squeezed its middle.

"Potter, save me!"

The mask fell away, revealing the face of Terrence Higgs. Higgs was the Slytherin seeker in Harry's first year. They hadn't talked and besides that game, they hadn't interacted. Yet here Harry was, staring at Higgs who stared at him with a look of utter pleading. Begging Harry to save him from the fate that awaited him. Begging Harry to save him, after he had murdered Wayne Hopkins.

Harry turned from Higgs and the acromantula that was dragging him away. Someone had created a fire and several of the students were using the flames to keep a large group of spiders at bay. The other able students were dueling with the few Death Eaters still around. A glance to his left showed an acromantula dragging a student by its arm and into the tree line. Harry ran forward, his wand slicing through the air as he went to rescue the student.

A bludgeoner caught the spider in its eyes, causing many of them to pop with sickening squelching noises and a spray of a thick liquid through the air. The student it was carrying, Michael, was dropped to the ground clutching his arm possessively to his chest as the spider flailed around in agony. Harry came to a halt at Michael's side, seeing that the arm was cut deep enough where he could see bone. He started to move Michael toward Hermione, who along with Ron and Padma, was forming a rather crude defensive perimeter around the wounded. Unfortunately, he was forced to abandon his efforts when a trio of acromantula made their way toward him.

Harry jumped backwards as a gigantic club swept through the air and sent the three acromantulas that were in front of him flying to the side. He looked up to a see a twenty-six foot tall giant looming over him, its ugly face staring right at him. One of the twins swept through the canopy, firing curses at the giant's face. A big hand swiped at the broom rider, clipping the broom in its back. The wood shattered as bristles and splinters flew through the air and a Weasley twin went tumbling toward the ground.

Ron, who had witnessed his brothers incident, quickly waved his wand. The twin's momentum slowed down some before they slammed into the ground, which seemed to bend under their weight, as if it was a sponge. Harry banished the twin away from the giants range and toward the rest of the wounded. A number that seemed to be growing with every second.

Harry, remembering the training James Macnie had given him, shot an Explosion Hex at the giant's face. The spell exploded several feet to the left of the giant's face, causing it to flinch away from the fiery blast. Harry tried to move around the giant but it kept stomping its feet as it shuffled in place, making it difficult to go fully around it without worrying about being stepped on. He was already worn down from the Death Eaters and acromantulas, he didn't know whether he'd be able to take down a giant.

The club swung through the clearing, knocking away another spider, and flying toward an unsuspecting Anthony. Harry yelled a warning, casting a banishment charm that he knew wouldn't make it in time. When the swinging club was inches from Anthony it was hit with what looked like a cushioning spell. The large piece of wood slammed into Anthony and sent the teen flying through the air, where he landed farther down the path.

Harry cast an overpowered cutter that left a shallow gash into the giants shin. The large humanoid let out a roar, savoring the fighting it was taking part in. If something wasn't done soon, more students were going to end up like Anthony.

Harry went to cast another spell but stopped short as what appeared to be a grappling hook was thrown through the air, hooking on the giants shoulder. The rope was pulled taught and the giant looked at the device in confusion, reaching a hand to yank it from his skin. Another hook shot through the air, this one hooking into the giant's neck.

A loud war cry was emitted, accompanied by the pounding of hooves as centaurs came galloping into the battle. More hooks were thrown through the air and soon the giant had almost two dozen hooks hanging off his body, their ropes pulled taught as the centaurs struggled to bring the behemoth to its knees.

A few centaurs that weren't helping take down the giant, were wielding long spears, the wooden shaft as long as Harry was tall. The spears ended in sharp metallic tips, which were used to prod at the spiders. One centaur reared back on its hind legs, its front legs kicking out and slamming into the face of an acromantula, causing the giant arthropod to scurry backwards.

The ground gave a mighty shake as the centaurs managed to pull the giant to its knees. The giant still struggled but its arms were now pressed to its side, thick ropes keeping its appendages pinned to its torso. Harry counted almost thirty centaurs struggling to keep the giant contained as a few more galloped around its legs, jabbing at its thick skin with their spears. A few students leant their aid, shooting the most powerful offensive spells they had, jets of light constantly slamming into the large torso.

Harry ducked underneath a lunging acromantula, firing a piercing curse into its underside. The giant spider shrieked as the curse connected, causing it to flee from Harry in pain. Turning around Harry was speared in his midsection by Goyle, sending both of them tumbling down a slope that bordered the battle zone. They struggled with each other as they rolled, trying to gain the upper hand in a battle that was constantly changing as their momentum carried them down the slope.

Suddenly, they both fell through a hole and were falling through the air. It was maybe a ten foot drop before they slammed into the hard ground, grunts of pain being admitted by both of them. Harry felt his right shoulder dislocate, his wand flying from his hand, as Goyle landed with most of his weight on the smaller teen. Both teens scrambled to their feet, where they stared at each other for several moments.

Goyle moved forward, his fist flying through the air. The Slytherin had three inches and almost sixty pounds on Harry. However, Harry was faster, in shape and knew how to fight. He ducked underneath the attack and swung his left fist into Goyle's stomach. The bigger teen doubled over, clutching his stomach. Harry brought his elbow down on the back of Goyle's neck, sending him crashing to the floor.

Looking around, Harry spotted his wand and scrambled for it. His right arm was dislocated, he'd rather not fight physically if he could help it. He scooped the piece of wood off the ground and turned toward Goyle, to see that the Junior Death Eater had his wand aimed right at him. Harry threw himself sideways as a sickly green light flew from Goyle's wand and slammed into the wall.

Harry raised his wand to cast his own spell, but Goyle doubled over in pain. Harry looked at the teen bewildered. He would think it a trick by Goyle, but he knew Goyle was too stupid to even spell his full first name, Gregory, properly. Something was causing the teen pain and it seemed to be exhausting him. Seeing an opportunity, Harry quickly repositioned his shoulder before jamming it into the wall around him, snapping it back into place with a yelled profanity. Turning from the downed Slytherin, but keeping an eye on him from his peripherals, Harry examined the area he was in.

It appeared to be a cave. Dirt floors, solid rock walls and ceiling. There was a dim light shining throughout the area but there was no source of the light visible. However, there was a big problem. The problem was, he couldn't find the entrance he came in from. He had fallen in, and was searching the ceiling for the entrance but couldn't find anything. There was no exit anywhere. It was nothing but solid rock and dirt.

"Potter!" Goyle gasped out, hunched over in pain.

Harry glanced back and saw that Goyle had curled up into a fetal position. He thought about helping the Slytherin but the teen had just tried killing him. Not to mention he was getting freaked out at the fact that he had no idea where he entered from. He felt along the wall, his hand running over the rough surface. If the entrance was on the ceiling, he was going to need to conjure a ladder. However, he had observed that Goyle hadn't fallen under whatever was ailing him until after he had cast a spell. Could it have just been the nature or power of the spell used? It was possible. Yet, he didn't want to take a chance on something like that.

"What have we here?" Harry asked, observing a little bump in the wall in the shape of a triangle. He felt his fingers over the small bump and suddenly his hand started to go through the wall. Before he knew it his entire body was falling through the wall, Goyle's yell of "Potter, please!" ringing in his ears.

A/N: Remember half of the Death Eaters involved in the fight in the Forbidden Forest are either recent Hogwarts graduates or are those who fled from Hogwarts. The older ones are mostly street thugs from Knockturn alley, who aren't much better than your average seventh year. The only two good fighters the Death Eaters have in the battle in the forest are Lucius Malfoy and Marcus Jugson. Which is why the Hogwarts students Harry leads into battle are able to mostly hold their own, and why the Ministry law enforcers are able to drive them away. The real hardcore Death Eaters one should be afraid of were in Hogsmeade, fighting Dumbledore and the Order. Don't think the students are suddenly great fighters; which is why I made them get handled by the Ministry employees, who are trained fighters. Hagrid injured five Ministry employees by himself, Harry took out two and the rest of the students combined only took out four, compared to the nine students who were knocked out.


	19. Dumbledore for Minister!

This is the last chapter in this story. Look for the sequel, Harry Potter and the Areani, in the next two weeks. Those of you who are interested in reading the sequel, I recommend adding me as a favorite author so you will get updated when I post it.

I feel this chapter is a little rough around the edges. However, I've been so caught up in school work these pass few months that I haven't had time to go through it and polish it up. There were a few more things I wanted to add as well, like Harry taking his OWLs but I'm not going to. Its been so long and I just want to get the sequel out there, so I'm just going to post this.

Chapter 19 Dumbledore for Minister!

Harry emerged from the trunk of an old tree, wondering how he went from being in a cave to being in a tree. However, the sounds of battle could be heard several feet from him, through the thicket of vines and bushes in front of him, so such a conundrum would have to wait to be answered.

"Reducto!"

The thicket exploded outward, clearing a path for Harry to see exactly what was going on. Apparently sometime in his absence Dumbledore had arrived with a strange man and the giant had been killed by the centaurs. No moving Death Eaters were visible, though two lay on the ground, both bleeding. Dumbledore was talking with the lead centaur, Magorian, while the strange man helped the rest of the centaurs drive away the last of the acromantulas.

Harry quickly glanced around and spotted the students gathered around each other. Cho, Alicia, Angelina and the Weasley twin that wasn't knocked off his broom by the giant, Harry thought it was George, had descended from their flight above the trees. Harry had to stop as he spotted Wayne's motionless body, feeling the urge to puke. He held down the bile that crept up the back of his throat. Instead he shook his head and continued forward.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, throwing herself into his arms.

He could see that she had some scrapes and bruises along her arms and face but other then that seemed unharmed. He wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her shoulder.

"We thought the Death Eaters had dragged you off!"

Harry kissed her softly on the lips before looking around. "What's going on?"

"After you and Goyle disappeared from sight Dumbledore and Sirius," Harry looked at the strange man in surprise, "came into the clearing. They chased away the last of the Death Eaters while the centaurs finished off the giant. He summoned Fawkes and sent the phoenix to get help. He's bringing Madam Pomfrey to us rather than making us walk to her. Harry, Wayne's..."

"I know," Harry mumbled. "I saw it."

Suddenly there was a flash of flames as Madam Pomfrey and Fawkes appeared meters from the wounded students. The school Healer clutched a large bag, most likely full of potions and salves, in her hand. It took her only a moment to orient herself and spot all the wounded students.

"My goodness. I'm going to need more help," Madam Pomfrey muttered, observing all of the wounded students.

Fawkes disappeared in another flash of flames, startling Madam Pomfrey. The Healer moved forward, and upon spotting the uninjured Hermione, George, Cho, Angelina, Alicia, Tracey, Eddie, and Padma, and the relatively uninjured Neville and Harry, started directing them around.

"Conjure blankets on the ground and lay every one who is wounded out. I need to see who needs my help first. Hurry now!"

The ten teens jumped into action. Harry twirled his wand and conjured a large white blanket that stretched along the width of the path. The others cautiously floated the wounded students onto the blanket. The bandages that Harry had wrapped around Alex's chest were soaked in blood. The hole in Terry's thigh looked like it was infected. Michael's arm was mangled and the white of his bone was clearly visible. The three stumps where Hannah's fingers use to be dripped with blood.

"Mr. Potter get the wound-cleaning potion from my bag. Start cleaning the wounds. Start with Mr. Boot, his looks infected. Ms. Granger get the blood-replenisher and go down the line. Mr. Chambers looks like he is in dire need of it. Ms. Chang and Ms. Spinnet, as the only two here who have taken my healing classes I will need both of your help with all these wounded."

Harry and Hermione quickly jumped to do as instructed. Harry grabbed the smoking purple potion and made his way over to Terry. He poured some of the potion onto the hole in Terry's thigh, the Ravenclaw wincing at the stinging sensation. Harry poured the potion on Alex, Michael, Hannah, Parvati, Ginny, Seamus, Angel, Susan and Katie, all of whom had open wounds, some worse than others.

Fawkes appeared in another flash of flames, this time carrying Emmeline Vance, a Medi-Witch and member of the Order. She took one look at all the wounded students and immediately moved to assist.

Madam Pomfrey looked at the new arrival in relief. "Emmeline, thank Merlin you're here. Mr. Goldstein's entire rib cage has been broken and both his lungs have been punctured and I think some pieces might have pierced his heart. Everyone bone in his hip also seems to have been shattered. If he doesn't get proper treatment soon, he won't make it. I can't treat him out here."

"I'll take him to St. Mungo's and see if I can't send some help. Fawkes." The phoenix flew over to the wounded teen and gently landed on his leg. Vance crouched down and grabbed Fawkes' tail before all three vanished in a puff of flames.

"Miss Spinnet, Mr. Finnegan has been hit with a cutter that clipped his kidney. You need to seal the kidney up, drain any fluids and repair any veins and arteries that were severed before bandaging him up. Do the best you can. I'll check on you as soon as I can.

"Miss Chang, Mr. Davis took a piercer to the stomach that doesn't appear to have hit anything vital. Double check to make sure my initial scan was in fact correct and then seal up the wound."

As the two females moved to do as instructed Madam Pomfrey moved over to Alex who, besides Anthony, appeared to be worse of all. Harry could see Dumbledore waving him over and so, after giving the wound-cleaning potion to Neville, made his way over.

The Headmaster stared at him with concern, trying to see if Harry was suffering from any wounds. Seeing no discomfort from the teen, he gave a heavy sigh. "What happened Harry?"

Harry told him everything. From Ginny informing him of Ron's kidnapping, to the fight with Umbridge in the Entrance Hall, to rescuing Ron and ending with the battle against the spiders and giant. He even included what happened with Goyle, in that strange tunnel.

Before Dumbledore said anything, he flicked his wand, balls of light flying from the tip and spreading out amongst the path. The Headmaster was illuminating a path, for any who needed to find where they were. Healers, Aurors and a few of the professors were probably curious as how to find where the wounded students were.

"It was foolish of you to rush of like that Harry. However, given the circumstances I can't say I fault you for heading off by yourselves to rescue a friend." Harry opened his mouth to protest Dumbledore's judgment but was interrupted. "Voldemort and most of his Inner Circle attacked Hogsmeade. It is what drew the professors and I away from the school, and I see now that it was merely a distraction to take away any help you might seek. The destruction of Hogsmeade was not the main target. You were and luckily you were able to break the trap, even if it did cost you."

Harry saw the sad look on Dumbledore's face as he gazed at all the students who were being treated. Harry felt himself turning to stare at all those who had come with him. Some of them moaned in pain as their wounds were tended too. He found his gaze settling on Wayne's motionless body, his gut clenching at the sight.

"Sir...I..."

"It is not easy," Dumbledore started, turning Harry from the casualties, "to lead others into battle. As the leader you are responsible for their well being. Generally someone like you Harry, someone who is such a good person they are unable to stand the pain of others, would not make a good military leader. However, that trait pales in comparison to your ability to get others to follow you. In that respect you are the most capable I have seen in many years. You will have to get use to it Harry. If this war is drawn out, then you must get use to leading others to their deaths. It is harsh but it is the life our world will be living in."

"I thought I could do it. I thought I was holding up pretty well but when Wayne took that Killing Curse... I don't know what happened. I went blank. Like I know it happened and I got angry and went after the person who did it but it didn't fully hit me until a few moments ago."

The Headmaster patted his shoulder in comfort and Harry sighed warily, his body shaking slightly. There were so many things that needed to be done; so many things that needed to be said. However, it would seem that all of it would need to wait because ten Aurors and two Healers came walking down the illuminated path Dumbledore had created. The two Healers immediately went to assist Madame Pomfrey with the wounded. The Aurors, on the other hand, approached Dumbledore carefully.

"Professor Dumbledore, we have some bad news regarding Fudge."

Harry growled in his throat at the mention of that name. "That man tried to arrest me on false charges. He should consider himself lucky if he isn't impeached by the end of this week!"

The lead Auror shot Harry a dark look. "That will be impossible because Minister Fudge is dead!"

A startled look appeared on Dumbledore's face as he took in the news. Harry's face was a mixture of shock and mild-relief. He wouldn't show sympathy for a man who dragged his name in the mud and tried to arrest him, all because of cowardice. Fudge being dead, though a tragedy to some, was actually beneficial to him.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"Assassin sir. No other way. He was in his office. Secretary said no one passed her and he doesn't have incoming floo. Aurors are investigating now, the entire office is on lock down. Amelia Bones is calling the shots right now but she made it clear someone else has to be elected soon."

"Then I fear I must go to the Ministry to help sort all this out." Dumbledore patted Harry on the shoulder one more time before turning and walking down the path to Hogwarts.

"Mr. Potter, if you can direct us to where the battles took place. We're going to have to do a full investigation into everything that went on here. Madam Bones' orders."

Harry looked at the Aurors carefully, wondering if any of them would try arresting him as well. He shrugged his shoulders and waved at the area they were in. "This is where most of the fighting took place. We got flanked by acromantulas and our rear was being harassed by Death Eaters, maybe a dozen of them. Then a giant came out of nowhere and started attacking us and the acromantulas. I thought we were done for until the centaurs came to assist us."

As Harry spoke Aurors broke off to do certain things. Two went off to talk to the students. Another went to talk to the centaurs, who were still standing around. Still two more went to ward the area, to prevent the spiders from attacking again.

"You said most of the fighting. Where did the rest happen?" the lead Auror questioned.

"There is this clearing about three-quarters of a mile deeper. That's where the fighting started. Just follow the path of destruction if you want to find it. Then some of the group escaped the clearing and got separated from the rest of us. They ran into Ministry officials who tried arresting them before Death Eaters arrived and started dueling the Ministry. You can ask Umbridge for more details if you really want."

Three of the Aurors peeled off and started to follow the trail of destruction Harry indicated. Pock marks in the ground, holes blown out of trees, pieces of giant spiders and drops of blood were just some of the tell tale signs one could follow.

"We'll be talking to you later to get a full report but for now, go rest. You look like you could use it."

Harry nodded his head in agreement, turning and stumbling over to the rest of the students. He plopped onto the ground next to Hermione, resting his head on her shoulder. The strange man, who was actually his godfather under the polyjuice potion, sat down next to him.

"How you holding up kiddo?" Sirius asked quietly.

"I'm alright," Harry muttered, positioning his head on Hermione's shoulder so he could see Sirius' face.

"I know this is tough but I'm proud of you Harry. You did the right thing."

"It cost Wayne his life, Sirius."

Sirius nodded his head. "True but by the sounds of it you guys took out a few of the Death Eaters and led to the capture of a few others."

"So because we killed people everything is okay?" Harry demanded, raising his head.

"I'm sorry Harry, I keep forgetting you aren't use to a war."

"You keep forgetting I'm not my father you mean."

Sirius winced and looked away. It was true. When Harry bantered with him, so much like James use to when they were teens, he found himself staring at his best friend again, not his godson. Remus often reminded him that Harry wasn't James.

"Remus always tells me I'm still the twenty-one year old I was when they tossed me in Azkaban. He keeps saying that time has passed me by and I refuse to catch up. Its hard having your entire life thrown upside down and then you have no time to process what happened and no time to accept it and get over it. But I'm trying Harry. I'm trying to be the thirty-five year old godfather and role model you need in your life, not the immature adult with the mind of a teenager."

"I don't want you to be anyone but yourself Sirius. But you have to remember that I'm just me. I'm not Lily Potter and I'm certainly not James Potter. I'm Harry Potter and thats it."

Sirius leaned forward and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately. "That's all you'll ever need to be Harry." Godson and godfather shared a smile. "I'd like to stay but this polyjuice isn't going to last forever. I should go before it fades."

As Sirius got up and left, Harry saw that Hermione was giving Harry a weird look.

"What?" he asked self-consciously.

"That was so sweet," Hermione stated.

"What?"

"You and Sirius, just now."

Harry gave a soft snort. "That wasn't sweet. That was Sirius and I being manly. Cause men aren't sweet with each other. We're tough and manly-like."

* * *

"As you all know, Hogsmeade village was attacked yesterday and during the confusion three students took another student against his will into the forest. If it wasn't for the brave actions of several of your classmates, he would not have been rescued. Unfortunately, during those events Wayne Hopkins was tragically killed. Wayne was hard working and loyal to those he thought deserved it. He was a great friend, ask any who knew him. What happened to Wayne was a tragedy that should have never occurred but unfortunately there are those who seek to destroy all that is good and innocent in this world. Wayne was a true Hufflepuff and one Helga would be proud to call her own. I ask you for a moment of silence for Wayne."

Harry and all those that had fought in the Forbidden Forest stood, raising their glasses in a toast to Wayne. The entirety of Hufflepuff, along with a few more other students joined the toast. Everyone was silent, most showing their respect, some quelled by Harry's dark gaze, daring any of them to utter a sound.

"Thank you. There are those who rise against the darkness that threaten to take over our world. They choose to do what is right over what is easy. There may be a time in your future when you are given a choice. The choice to do what is right over what is easy. I hope you make the right decision.

"Now as you are no doubt aware Voldemort has indeed return. What the Daily Prophet and the Ministry have been telling you for almost a year has been a lie." Cries of fear went up amongst the students. "As for the Ministry, yesterday during the attack on Hogsmeade, Minister Fudge was assassinated." The students, already fearful at the return of Voldemort, started talking amongst themselves, startled at the news. "In need of a new Minister, the Ministry has turned to me... and I have accepted."

Murmurs of shock went up around the hall. Dumbledore had been refusing that position since the 80's. Harry felt the outrage bubble in his chest. Dumbledore had always been the pillar of Hogwarts. If he left it, wouldn't that make it more vulnerable to Voldemort? And who would Harry turn to when he was in need of advice?

"At the end of this term I will resign from the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor McGonagall will be taking my place and I hope you show her the same respect you showed me. Now, let us enjoy our meal."

The feast went by in a blur to Harry, who was too busy thinking of what Dumbledore was doing to participate in the conversations that took place around him. When the feast was finally over Harry got right up from his seat. Dumbledore was already leaving through a side door, one that led to a hidden staircase that then led to the corridor of his office.

"Professor Dumbledore!"

The Headmaster turned around, smiling upon seeing Harry.

"How are you Harry?"

"Good professor. Are you really leaving the school?"

"Walk with me."

Harry did as he was told, following as Dumbledore walked out the side door and down a dimly lit corridor. They walked up the staircase in silence before stepping out of an alcove fifty feet from the stone gargoyle.

"I have indeed finally accepted the post of Minister of Magic. With Voldemort back this country needs a strong leader who won't be cowed by Riddle or his followers. Not to toot my own horn but I believe I am the best suited for that."

"You are sir. Its just that, won't Hogwarts be more vulnerable without you?"

"Nothing from outside these walls can get in Harry. Bertie Botts."

The stone gargoyle jumped out of the way, revealing the ascending spiral staircase behind it. The two wizards stepped on, being taken all the way to the office door. Dumbledore entered his office first, followed quickly by Harry, who closed the door behind himself.

"Unless they have held from the inside." Harry's voice rose at the end, making it more of a question then a statement.

"Yes. This year has proven that Hogwarts greatest enemy isn't Voldemort and his Death Eaters but the very students who walk these halls. However, Professor McGonagall is already starting to take precautions to prevent anything that happened this year from happening again."

"What about professors?"

Dumbledore frowned, obviously knowing who Harry meant. "I know how you feel about Severus, Harry. You made your actions quite clear when you attacked him. However, I trust him completely and you should as well.

"But sir, you never tell anyone why you trust him. Maybe if you told me, I'd trust him too."

"That is between me and Severus."

"Then I can't trust him. If you won't tell me why then all I can go on is how he has treated me and the role he has had in my parents death." He looked his mentor in the eye, refusing to back down on this.

With a weary sigh Dumbledore conceded. "I won't ask you to trust him but I ask you to ignore him when you two are in close proximity."

Harry nodded his head, knowing that Snape was still in the hospital with no signs of waking from his coma. Even then, if the bitter man did wake up and started teaching potions again, Harry wasn't taking the class so he doubted they would have many run ins.

"Now, is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"Yeah. Are you going to disband the Order? You created it because the Ministry was incompetent but now that you're in charge of the Ministry..."

"I will be passing leadership of the Order to Alastor. He has already said he will be contacting you soon. I believe he'll need your help with something."

Harry sat up a little straighter, wondering if he'll finally be able to join the Order. He had been hoping to join it ever since Sirius and Remus had told him what it was.

"Did we lose anyone in Hogsmeade?"

Dumbledore took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Podmore and Doge were both killed, along with a Hit Wizard. We did manage to capture Adrian Pucey and Alecto Carrows. Ferdinand Gibbon was the only Death Eater in Hogsmeade killed."

Harry nodded his head. He knew that Terrence Higgs, Gregory Goyle and three guys, who were apparently notorious street thugs from Knockturn Alley, were the Death Eaters killed in the forest, along with Fleet Herbert and Marcus Flint being the two captured. He also knew that two Ministry officials had died in the Forbidden Forest.

" Now if you'll excuse me Harry. There is much to be done as I assume my new role and leave this one behind. I'll tell you now that one of my first legislations will be repealing the tracking wards over areas of known muggle-borns. Instead a trace will be put on all wands of anyone under the age of fifteen."

Harry stood from his seat, having the knowledge that he would be able to perform magic during the summer. He nodded his head to Dumbledore before slowly making his way out of the room.

* * *

Voldemort glared at everyone around him. Lucius lay on the ground, twitching slightly and panting heavily from the Cruciatus Curse that he had just been subjected to. The man was still weak from his torso wound, but Voldemort wasn't one to be lenient.

"Failures! All of you are failures!"

Voldemort randomly pointed his wand and hit Samuels with a Cruciatus, the teen crumpling to the ground in pain. He watched the teen thrash around for several seconds before lifting the spell. Shakily Samuels scrambled back to his feet. He hadn't been under the curse even a fraction of the time Lucius had been.

"All you had to do was capture Potter. That was it! And what do you do? You get beaten by school children! And now I find out that Dumbledore is taking over as new Minister! FAILURES!"

They all shook in fear under his dark gaze. "Nott, casualties."

The man gulped, knowing this wasn't going to go over well. "In Hogsmeade Gibbon was killed by Mad-Eye, Alecto was captured by Black and Pucey was captured by Hit Wizards. Serious injuries are as follows; Rabastan is in a coma, Amycus lost an eye and Jugson lost his left arm from the elbow down. In the Forest, from what we know, we lost Higgs, Goyle, Clark, Ellis and Hampel. Herbert and Flint were both captured. Serious injuries are as follows; Malfoy with his chest wound, Bole has cuts on his leg that go bone deep due to Acromantulas, Montaque has a collapsed lung and Burrow had his nose and both cheekbones broken."

Voldemort sat in silence for a few seconds, his rage growing at the casualty report. "Six deaths, four captured, and seven seriously wounded. Compared to what? Two dead Order members, three dead Ministry employees, a dead student and a bunch of school children in the hospital? The whole lot of you are pathetic. I already have six followers in Azkaban if you throw in the two imbeciles, Towler and the younger Rookwood. Did you all grow complacent while I was gone?"

Some frantically shook their heads, while others just tried to control their bodies from quivering under narrowed red eyes. Malfoy managed to drag himself to his feet and stood, unsteadily, with the rest of his brethren.

"Did you grow soft and weak? Were you all too busy living your comfy lives as I struggled to find a way to return to power?" The Dark Lord sneered at every single weak being in front of him. If only one could rise to power without help. It would have made his life so much easier. "Get out of my sight. All of you!"

The Death Eaters quickly started to flee the room, none daring to look back. Many of them had been spared their lord's anger and they were thankful for it.

"Oh and Jugson, you weren't competent enough to delay school children long enough for Potter to be captured? Crucio!"

The spell flew from Voldemort's wand and with great accuracy hit Jugson, who was in the middle of the Death Eater pack. The man fell to the ground twitching, screaming in agony. The other Death Eaters scrambled around his thrashing form, hoping they could get out of the room quick enough before such a punishment befell them.

* * *

The funeral for Wayne was a subdued affair. His parents were muggles and still didn't fully understand exactly who their son had died. Dumbledore had explained it the best he could, trying to put it in terms that muggle would understand. All Harry knew, neither of them wanted anything to do with the magical world anymore and demanded that after the funeral, all of Wayne's magical friends would stay out of their lives. Ernie, who had been Wayne's best friend had been hit the hardest by the mother's accusation that it was magic's fault that Wayne was dead.

Everyone who was able to, attended the funeral. Anthony was still at St. Mungo's and was in stable condition. Alex hadn't woken up yet but Madam Pomfrey assured everyone he would be just fine in a few days. Seamus, Angel, Terry, Michael and Hannah were the only other ones who were still in the Hospital Wing, even after four days had passed. When the group of students who had participated in the battle weren't visiting their friends in the Hospital Wing, they were studying. Exams were a week and a half away and school was over in two and a half.

So Harry was expecting to see most people studying. However, there were two people he never expected to lift a book. Yet there they were, right in front of him...studying.

"Are you guys studying?" Harry asked, staring at the twins in shock.

"Of course Harry."

"NEWTs are coming up my good man."

"Yeah but you guys said you don't care about NEWTs. That you didn't need an education to open up a joke shop."

Fred glanced up at him from his potions textbook before looking back down. "We aren't opening the joke shop."

"At least not yet," George piped in.

Harry looked at them in confusion, remembering them talking about opening a joke shop since his third year. He had even helped them out by giving them his thousand galleon Tri-Wizard winnings.

"Do you guys need more money? I'll lend you enough to buy a store."

This time is was George who looked up. "While thats kind of you, that isn't why we aren't opening up the joke shop."

"We got offered a job."

This got Harry even more confused. Who, besides Zonko's, would hire the Weasley twins; well known pranksters and the Princes of Mayhem?

"Where are you going to be working?" Harry asked.

This time they both looked up, speaking in unison, "For the Ministry."

"Dumbledore wants us to be part of a new subsection in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"It's gonna be called Games and Development. We'll be inventing things to use in the war."

Harry nodded his head. It made sense that the twins, two of the most creative and inventive minds he had ever met, would be working to develop new things to help in the war. Which would explain why they were studying their arses off. The Ministry wouldn't look competent hiring people with poor grades. The twins would need to increase their grades from the three OWLs they got apiece to five or so NEWTs.

"Charms, Defense and Potions are the only NEWT classes we have but we've been studying up on Ancient Runes and plan on taking the NEWT for that as well."

"Dumbledore said that would be all we needed."

"Well good luck guys," Harry stated, patting them both on the shoulder.

They nodded their heads as he left. He searched the common room for someone else to talk to and found his girlfriend in a secluded corner, her face buried in a book. He approached her silently, wrapping his arms around her neck and kissing behind her ear.

Hermione shrugged off his kisses. "Come on Harry, I'm trying to study."

Harry moved around and sat in front of Hermione, frowning at her. "Its never bothered you before."

"Now I'm studying for OWLs. These decide what NEWTs we can take and that decides our future."

Harry reached out and forcibly lowered the book from Hermione's face, making her look at him. "I don't buy it. What gives?"

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about things."

"About what?"

"Don't worry about it Harry."

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever you say Hermione."

* * *

"I need to talk to you lad."

Harry nodded his head at Remus, who was leaning against his car. The werewolf nodded in return, walking forward and grabbing Harry's things before putting the trunk in the boot of the car and Hedwig in the back seat.

"I'll be there in a minute Remus."

The teen let himself be led away by Moody, who brought him over to a park bench. The old Auror waved his right hand, where Harry knew he kept his wand, and erected small privacy and silencing wards.

"As Dumbledore no doubt told you I'm in charge of the Order now. With Dumbledore becoming Minister we've come to an agreement that no Ministry employees will be in the Order. That means Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur, Jones, Clearwater and Arthur's third son..."

"Percy," Harry supplied, taking mental note that Penelope Clearwater and Percy Weasley were apparently the (former) inactive members who worked in the Ministry.

"Percy are all out. Black is going to turn himself in and when he's declared innocent Albus is going to make him a Hit Wizard team leader. Lupin is going to be hired for some job in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures by Dumbledore, so he's out as well. Lupin, Black, Kingsley and Tonks were half of our competent fighters, especially after losing Doge."

Harry wondered if Sirius and Remus knew about the jobs they were suppose to be getting. "Who do you have left in the Order?"

"Minerva, Filius, Aberforth, Diggle, that Krum kid, Arthur's oldest," "Bill." "Bill and Bill's girlfriend, that French Veela. I need fighters Potter and that's where you come in."

"How do you figure?"

"You know the previous few classes of Hogwarts graduates. I need your help in recruiting some of them into the Order."

Immediately a bunch of names sprang into Harry's mind. "I can help but I want to be a part of the Order too."

"Aye, I was gonna make you a member anyway. As our eyes and ears at Hogwarts." Moody reached into his pocket, pulling out a stack of envelopes. "Just hand these to those you can recruit. It has a pendant, a contract and a piece of parchment with directions. Get them to sign the contract inside and then give it to me, so I can file it away. Once that's done tell 'em to put on the pendant and when they fell it heat up they should follow the direction to the Order's headquarters."

Harry nodded his head, taking the stack of twenty envelopes. "Sure. Should be easy."

"Top one is for you. When you sign it, give it to Remus or Sirius."

* * *

The following is a preview for the sequel.

"Thank you for meeting with me Mr. Potter," Amos Diggory said, smiling at Harry.

The teen sat down in the seat across from the Minister, his face curious. "No problem Minister." There was a beat of silence. "You said you wanted to meet with me to discuss helping out the Ministry?"

"Straight to the point I see. Very well. Yes, I invited you here to help out the Ministry and to help out in this war. Dumbledore isn't here anymore and most of the United Kingdom's best fighters are in Eastern Europe fighting Voldemort. That has not only left us short-handed here but also without much skill and talent in our fighters. Rowle, Dolohov, Rookwood and Malfoy, amongst dozens of other skilled Death Eaters are still in the United Kingdom, and without the likes of Shacklebolt, Scrimgeour, Black and all the others, we don't have many that can stand up to them in a fight."

Harry leaned back in his seat as he listened to the Minister speak. He had an idea where this was going. "Very true Minister but I don't see how a mere sixth year can do anything about that."

"Please Mr. Potter, a mere sixth year you are not. Let's not play games for neither of us has time for them. I need talent and I need it now. I have already approached five seventh years who have agreed to take their NEWTs early and join the Ministry. Along with several of Hogwarts recent graduates they will spend the next few months being trained to be Knights, some of the best fighters this country will have."


	20. Sequel Up!

The first chapter of the next story in this series has been posted. This is a heads up for all those who put this story under their favorites and are interested in reading the sequel. Below are the first few paragraphs of the sequel, to wet your whistle so to speak.

fanfiction(dot)net/s/6646806/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Areani

Harry Potter and the Areani.

Harry Potter didn't bother to knock because technically it was his home and one did not need to knock to enter their home. Still that didn't prevent the Dursleys from staring at him with their mouths open when he entered the kitchen. They knew when he was coming home, he had made sure to send them a large owl stating when he would be coming home, and made sure to state he didn't need a ride since he had his own. He also made sure the owl he chose had a bad bowel problem but that was beside the point.

He took several steps into the room and just stared at his family. They stared back at him, not even noticing as Remus slipped into the room behind Harry. Remus was there to witness what was going to happen between nephew and, aunt and uncle. Harry had told him of his plan for the summer, and though he was worried about most of the plan, the beginning would probably give him some amusement.

Uncle Vernon couldn't take the silence. "Well what do you want? Why the hell are you just staring?"

"Sorry uncle, just remembering how much I hate seeing you're fat and ugly face," Harry answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Vernon purpled with rage. "I should have drowned you when I had the chance, you ungrateful bastard."

"Shoulda, woulda, coulda. And for shame uncle, my parents were married when I was born."


End file.
